Swedish truck maker Scania kicked off construction of its production facility and also a manufacturing base in Rugao City of Jiangsu Province on June 10.  

Scania’s investment is one of the first wholly-owned automobile projects after China removed the foreign ownership limits in passenger vehicle manufacturing. The development in Rugao will also be the company’s third production base in the world and an important step in its strategy to grow in China.  

Mats Harborn, president at Scania China, said the facility will have an annual output of 50,000 commercial vehicles when it’s completed in 2024 and it also includes an engine factory and a research and development center. The products will be for Chinese market and other markets.  

He Yijun, secretary of the CPC Rugao Committee, said the city has made it a development priority to become a hub of vehicles and auto parts manufacturing. Rugao is now home to plants of industry leaders including Townsun, Chaoda and Hit Precision Metals, which together boast an annual output of 10 billion yuan. 

He said Rugao will provide better service and development environment for companies to launch new projects and expand production. 

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