Jatco Automatic Transmission Ltd, a leading Japanese automatic transmission manufacturer, opened a production base in Zhangjiagang, a county-level city in Suzhou, Jiangsu province on Nov 8, local media reported.

The new base is the second to be opened in China after the company established a base in Guangzhou in 2007.

Located in Zhangjiagang's Yangshe town, the base covers an area of about 96,000 square meters and has more than 700 employees, a registered capital of 398 million yuan ($57.6 million), and an annual capacity of 480,000 units.

The Jatco Automatic Transmission Ltd is put into operation on Nov 8. [Photo/zjgonline.com]

Jatco was attracted to Zhangjiagang because of its unique geographical advantages (along the Yangtze River), developed logistics system, robust transportation network, and large number of technical talents.

Zhangjiagang is working to build a world-class business environment and expand economic and trade cooperation with Japanese companies, Shen Guofang, Party secretary of Zhangjiagang, said at its opening ceremony.

The new Jatco (Suzhou) base will produce Jatco CVT8, a type of continuously variable transmission (CVT) used in medium-sized to large vehicles, including Dongfeng Nissan, Dongfeng Renault and GMMC.

As the newest Jatco base, Jatco (Suzhou) will draw from the experiences of the Guangzhou base and make full use of local technologies.

Jatco is one of the world’s three major automatic transmission manufacturers and commands a large share of the global CVT market.