Kawasaki forms JV with Taiwanese bikemaker

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. said that it and Taiwanese motorcycle maker Kwang Yang Holdings Ltd. will form a 50-50 US$5 million joint venture in China’s Jiangsu Province to build and market multi-purpose gasoline engines. The JV is projected to begin operations in January, with initial annual output of 200,000 engines, rising to 1 million units in five years’ time, Kawasaki Heavy said. The Japanese manufacturer has outsourced the production of engines to Kwang Yang’s Chinese unit since November 2008 but has decided to commit itself further to the business by establishing a joint venture. (August 3, 2009)