From Asia Pulse
TOKYO — Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. will establish an automotive air conditioner business for supplying hybrid vehicles, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported Sunday.
The industrial machinery conglomerate has secured orders from two major U.S. automakers.
It will begin mass-producing compressors at a Mie Prefecture facility in 2007, and a high-volume production line is scheduled to go online the following year at a U.S. subsidiary in the state of Indiana. Total investments are estimated at about $16.83 million.
Beginning with an annual capacity of 330,000 units in 2008, Mitsubishi Heavy aims to quickly ramp up output to more than 500,000 units.
The market for automotive air conditioners used in hybrids is projected at roughly 2.5 million units in 2012, an eightfold increase from 2005.
(C) 2006 Asia Pulse Pte Ltd.
