Airbus to open new China assembly line

Airbus, the world’s largest planemaker, has decided to expand its capacity in the second-largest aircraft market in the world by constructing a second production line in China. As internal travel resumes its pre-pandemic levels, the move seeks to increase the company’s access to the Chinese market. During French President Emmanuel Macron‘s state visit to China, Guillaume Faury, the CEO of Airbus, signed a document approving the delivery of 160 aircraft that were already on the company’s books, including 150 single-aisle planes and 10 A350s. Although negotiations were taking place throughout Macron’s visit, the absence of new business fell short of some expectations because no imminent announcement was anticipated.

China holds over 20% of the global aviation market and is also launching the C919, a rival aircraft, into service. Proposals for a new assembly line in China are probably going to attract interest in India, a growing economic and strategic foe whose aviation minister last month urged both Airbus and Boeing to establish local airliner manufacturing in response to record-breaking aircraft orders. Since 2008, Airbus has been building its most popular A320 family aircraft outside of the city of Tianjin, where the current line can build four aircraft each month. With the addition of the new facility, there will be 10 Airbus production lines worldwide, including four in Germany, two in France, and two in the US.

NewsoTG gathered that Airbus, during the next two decades, China’s traffic would increase by 5.3% yearly, above the global average of 3.6%. Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus, told reporters that “The comeback, in this case, is extremely remarkable. Very high momentum is apparent “in the course of his first trip to China following the COVID-19 incident. The extension will support the European airline’s plans to increase single-aisle A320neo production from 45 per month at the end of 2022 to 75 per month in 2026 while also leaving some “surge capacity.” Due to recent disruptions in global supply chains, the target has been postponed, but Airbus claims it is putting together a resilient system.

China has often split its jet purchases between Airbus and Boeing in the past, but due to trade concerns, business with the US aircraft manufacturer has drastically slowed recently. Contrarily, in the midst of tensions between Washington and Beijing, Airbus has surpassed Boeing as a supplier to China. Despite not receiving any new orders during Macron’s visit, Airbus’ decision to increase its capacity in China is a smart one that should have long-term benefits.