Hella Expands in China

Germany's Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. will open its seventh manufacturing plant in China in December, initially to supply General Motors and Volkswagen operations in Shanghai with lighting components.

The facility in Jianxing one of Hella's largest in China will open with 10 production lines and eventually expand to 50 lines, according to Joerg Buchheim, who heads the company's China operations.

Buchheim tells AutoBeat Asia on the sidelines of the 2013 Global Automotive Forum in Wuhan that Hella generates annual revenue of about €400 million ($552 million) in China. He says original-equipment electronics account for 55% of the total, and lighting contributes 40%.

Buchheim tells ABA that Hella intends to expand its aftermarket business, which currently contributes only 5% of company revenue in China. He says Hella has been expanding at an annual rate of 28% in China recently and hopes to increase that rate to 50%.