Japan's Kobe Steel is planning to invest and form a company in Tianjin, China to produce aluminum sheet for auto body panels.
This would be the first company established by a Japanese firm to produce aluminum sheet for automotive body panels in China.

It is reported that the new company would be called Kobelco Automotive Aluminum Rolled Products (China) Co., Ltd and would have a production capacity of 100,000 metric tons per year.

Kobe Steel will supply master coils from Japan then the aluminum will undergo annealing and other surface treatment and finishing by the new company in China.

The new company is to be established in early 2014 with total investment anticipated to reach ￥1.15 billion. The facility is expected to start up in 2016.

China currently is the world's largest automobile market and in the next 10 years, auto production is expected to increase by around 50%.