Double production
Airbus is building a second production line in China
2023/04/06 13:36
China’s tourism industry is just waking up from its years-long Covid slumber. A signal for aircraft manufacturer Airbus to increase production in the Far East. The Tianjin plant is expanding accordingly.
European aircraft manufacturer Airbus wants to double production in China. Airbus chief Guillaume Faury announced in Beijing that the group will build a second production line at a factory in Tianjin. This doubles the production of A320 family aircraft on Chinese soil.
Faury accompanied French President Emmanuel Macron on his trip to China. It is “perfectly logical” for Airbus to increase production in China because the market there is growing, Faure said. Airbus manufactures for Chinese airlines “and possibly other customers in the region as well.” China, with its huge global tourism potential, is just beginning to emerge from a three-year lockdown on international travel due to the Covid-19 border closure.
In operation since 2025
The framework agreement to expand the plant was signed in Beijing in the presence of Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The commissioning of the second production line in Tianjin is planned for the second half of 2025. Airbus has been manufacturing in Tianjin since 2008. More than 600 A320 aircraft have already been built there.
Four machines are currently produced each month; there will be six a month during the year. With a second production line in China, Airbus would have ten. The aircraft manufacturer also has four in Hamburg, two in Toulouse and two in Mobile in the US.
Forry also signed a so-called general terms agreement for the sale of aircraft, without details. Last year, Chinese airlines ordered more than 300 narrow-body jets from Airbus worth more than $40 billion, excluding normal discounts. Airlines in China account for about a fifth of Airbus’ deliveries.