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 Fukuoka, a 1.5 million car production base in Asia |
 The Northern Kyushu region including Fukuoka boasts a growing concentration of automobile manufacturers, as Japanese major manufacturers of completed cars like Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (Kyushu Plant), Toyota Motor Kyushu, Inc. and Daihatsu Motor Kyushu Co., Ltd. are choosing to base their operations in the area. Not only assembly plants, but plants for production of engines, the heart of automobiles, are also increasingly being built in this area.
By building on its highly concentrated technological expertise, Northern Kyushu has begun to establish itself as the premier production base for both domestic and foreign automobile manufacturers, with convenient access to the growing East Asian markets including China. |
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Production of automobiles (excluding buses and trucks) in Fukuoka surpassed 1 million in 2006, double the figure of seven years ago. Over 50 automobile-related companies including parts manufacturers have started operation in this region over the past several years.
Mainstay manufacturers of completed cars have decided either to expand or begin additional production in the area (as indicated below.), while Fukuoka Prefecture has set a new goal of achieving 1.5 million annual production by 2008.
[ Recent movements and future plans of car manufacturers ]
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September 2005: Toyota Motor Kyushu expanded annual production capacity from 230,000 to 430,000 |
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December 2005: Toyota Motor Kyushu’s new engine plant started operation (with annual production capacity of 220,000 units) |
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End of 2007: Daihatsu Motor Kyushu plans to expand annual production capacity from 250,000 to 480,000 |
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Spring 2008: Toyota Motor Kyushu plans to enhance its annual engine production capacity to 440,000 units. |
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Summer 2008: Daihatsu Motor Kyushu’s new engine plant is scheduled to start operation (with annual production capacity of 200,000 units) |
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Summer 2008: Toyota Motor Kyushu’ new plant for transaxle production plans to start operation. |
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Spring 2009: Nissan Shatai will build a new plant (with annual production capacity of around 120,000) |
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Fukuoka boasts an array of companies with highly advanced technologies in steel, molding, semiconductors and information technology (IT), to name a few, which are industries indispensable to the ongoing growth and evolution of the automobile industry. |
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Fukuoka is home to two major international ports - the Port of Hakata and the Port of Kitakyushu. The Port of Hakata offers a high-speed roll-on/roll-off shipping service, called the Shanghai Super Express, which connects the port with Shanghai in 26.5 hours. The Hakata Cross Service is also available for end-to-end transportation to Busan, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Okinawa, offering similar roll-on/roll-off shipping services to accelerate the transportation of goods, with the Port of Hakata as the central hub. Moreover, Fukuoka has two international airports (Fukuoka Airport, Kitakyushu Airport), serving as convenient connecting points between Japan and East Asia. |
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1.5 Million Cars Project
Established for the purpose of making Fukuoka a 1.5 million automobile production base in East Asia. As of May 2007, about 430 members including over 360 companies are involved in this project.
Project objectives include:
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Achieve local production levels of 1.5 million cars annually by 2008 |
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Promote purchasing from local companies (up to 70% of total purchasing) |
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Become a leading base in Asia |
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Develop next-generation automobiles utilizing hydrogen energy and other new technologies |
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| Major Companies |
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