Teijin Automotive Technologies expands composites footprint in China to meet growing demand for EVs

On Feb. 14 Teijin Automotive Technologies (Tokyo, Japan), the brand unifying five automotive materials companies and the core company of Teijin Group’s automotive composites business, announced that it has begun commercial operation of a new 39,000-square-meter composites manufacturing facility in the Wujin National Hi-Tech Industrial Zone based in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, China. The company also announced that it is constructing a third plant in China, based in the Technological Development Zone of the Tiexi District in Shenyang, Liaoning province, and will begin operating this plant, with 13,000 square meters of work floor space, in the summer of 2023.

Teijin Automotive Technologies selected the Changzhou and Shenyang areas for its new plants because of their close proximity to the production facilities of several major European, U.S. and Chinese automakers. Teijin believes both plants will help meet the growing demand for composites components, further amplified through the growth of the electric vehicle (EV) market in China. The two plants will significantly boost the company’s ability to supply lightweight, safe, energy-efficient and durable composite components, which are reported to be indispensable for environmentally friendly vehicles.

With the second plant’s startup and the third plant’s construction, Teijin Automotive Technologies is actively strengthening its position as a global leader in automotive composite applications. Concurrently, the company is developing applications for advanced composite materials and processes to support its automotive customers’ challenges of achieving ambitious weight and CO₂ reduction targets, and lower EV production costs. Teijin is targeting annual sales of $2.0 billion for its automotive composite products business by 2030.

Teijin Automotive Technologies has been manufacturing automotive composites and glass fiber sheet molding compounds (GF-SMC) in China since 2015, mainly for EV battery covers, battery shields, underbody shields, structural inner panels and exterior body panels.