As one of the two industrial bases with estimated annual sales revenues of one trillion yuan in the Tianfu New Area, the Chengdu Economic and Development Industrial Zone prioritizes automobile research, development and manufacturing.

The Chengdu International Auto Town will focus on the development of high-end car manufacturing and research and development (R&D). It is planning to foster an industrial base valued at one trillion yuan ($158.2 billion), pillared by 100 billion yuan-worth of industries.

With a designated area of 30 square kilometers, the Longquan Development Zone in the Tianfu New Area neighbours the center of Huangguan Lake to the north. It is also close to the Chengdu-Chongqing passenger railway station to the south and the expansion area of the economic development zone to its east.

Longquan has 87 projects with a total investment of 150 billion yuan ($23.73 billion) for the new area. Among them are 17 initial projects valued at 40.3 billion yuan. Some of them are already under construction and others are to start before the end of the year.

Of the 17 projects, 10 of them are industrial and auto related. The most exciting one is Volvo’s Chengdu base with an invested capital of 10.6 billion yuan ($1.68 billion).

The Volvo OEM factory has an annual capacity of 300,000 finished automobiles including at least five Volvo passenger car models. Two host machines for the passenger cars – 1.5 to 3.0-liter engine and Australian DSI transmission – will be put into production at the base as well. Moreover, the Volvo automotive research center, the Volvo parts procurement center and the Volvo operation center in West China are also located here.

The completion of the project is expected to bring about an annual output value of 50 billion yuan, with yearly tax revenue of 4 billion yuan and over 6,000 new jobs. The project was launched in January 2011 and was registered in the economic development zone in August 2010. It is to be completed in 2012 and will commence operation in March or April 2013. Within three years, its production capacity is expected to reach 200,000 vehicles.

With a total investment of 2 billion yuan, Shanghai Ruihua’s Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) base in Chengdu is about to begin operation. The project includes a BEV production base with an annual output of 3,000 vehicles and 1,000 sets of core components. There is an electric vehicle R&D center of 10,000 square meters and an electric vehicle testing center. The projected annual sales income will reach 5 billion yuan with tax revenues of 300 million yuan. It will also provide 1, 000 employment opportunities.

Other major projects are: Kobelco large-tonnage cranes production base with an investment of 325 million yuan, German Bosch chassis project with an invested capital of 880 million yuan, FAW-Volkswagen core supporting project of 6.17 billion yuan, the auto industry technology incubator park in the economic development zone of 1 billion yuan, the Chengxing science and technology industrial park of automobile accessories of 500 million yuan, and 880 million yuan-worth FAW auto parts casting project in Chengdu.