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Airbus (OTCPK:EADSF) (OTCPK:EADSY) will double production capacity in China of its best-selling A320 narrow-body jet, adding a second final assembly line at its existing factory site in Tianjin under a deal signed Thursday by CEO Guillaume Faury in Beijing.
The expansion will advance Airbus’ (OTCPK:EADSF) (OTCPK:EADSY) plan to produce as many as 75 A320neo family jets per month by 2026, and is a confidence boost for Chinese manufacturing as other firms reconsider production in the country following three years of harsh COVID lockdowns.
Airbus (OTCPK:EADSF) (OTCPK:EADSY) also signed general terms of agreement with a Chinese entity for the purchase of 160 of its commercial aircraft.
Chinese carriers ordered more than 300 narrow-body aircraft from Airbus (OTCPK:EADSF) (OTCPK:EADSY) last year, valued at more than $40B before discounts; airlines in China comprise ~20% of the company’s global deliveries.
Airbus (OTCPK:EADSF) (OTCPK:EADSY) deliveries continue to be soft and are falling behind last year’s numbers, but its stock price has been rising, Dhierin Bechai writes in an analysis published on Seeking Alpha.
