FAW Haima Automobile Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of FAW in south China's Hainan Province, has began construction of a third factory on Saturday, Xinhua reported.
Covering an area of 55.3 hectares, the new factory will double the company's annual production capacity to 300,000 cars from the existing 150,000 units.

On completion in 2010, the factory will also have the capacity to produce 200,000 sets of gearboxes and 250,000 sets of stamping auto parts annually, according to the report.

"This new factory will specialize in making A-class sedans, and we aim to make it a small car production base," said Jing Zhu, chairman of the board of Haima Investment Group Shareholding Co. Ltd, parent company of FAW Haima Automobile Co. Ltd.

Since its separation from Japanese automaker Mazda Motor in 2006, FAW-Haima has been selling four models: Haima 3, Family, Happin and Freema. FAW-Haima sold 131,000 in 2007, up 62 percent from the previous year, and is hoping to sell 180,000 cars this year.


FAW Haima Auto starts construction of its third plant on July 16