Sino-German car parts firm starts

A car parts company jointly funded by German car producer Volkswagen AG and two leading Chinese car makers has started operation in Shanghai, People's Daily said. With a total investment of US$96m, Volkswagen Automotive Gearbox (Shanghai) is expected to produce 180,000 units annually, rising to 300,000 by 2005. Its output of MQ200 gearboxes is destined for use in Polo cars produced by Shanghai Volkswagen and Bora models made by FAW-Volkswagen Automotive in Changchun, Jilin province.