Gm To Expand In Central Europe

The investments by Delphi Automotive Systems, the GM subsidiary and the world's biggest automotive components supplier, are in response to increasing car production in central Europe as well as to the search by west European vehicle manufacturers for low-cost sources of supply as part of global purchasing strategies. GM itself is building a DM450 million ($303 millio) car plant in southern Poland to begin production at the end of 1998, and it also has a small volume car assembly operation in Hungary.

In Romania Delphi is to invest initially $7.5 million to build a greenfield site plant to assembly wiring harnesses at Sinnicolaul Mare, 500 km west of Bucharest.

Romania is a low-cost area and our investment there is an important step in staying ahead of the competition,'' said Delphi Packard Electric Europe MD.

Financial Times

Electric Europe.

Output is to begin in mid-1997 with full production to be reached in 199 with a workforce of around 600.

Delphi said that the Romanian plant would assemble wiring systems mainly for export across Europe, initially to Opel, GM's west European car operations.

It would also supply local carmakers, and talks are under way to supply Rodae, the Romanian joint venture controlled by Daewoo of South Korea.

In addition to Romania Delphi already has wholly owned operations in central Europe in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland. It has wiring harness plants in all three countries and also has a small seat assembly operation in Warsaw.

In Poland Delphi is planning to acquire in the autumn the state-owned Zaklady Sprzetu Mechanicznego, Poland's largest manufacturer of automotive radiators and heaters located in Ostrow.