Significant Advances for EADS in China
- 23 Single-Aisle Airbus Aircraft Ordered
- New Industrial Partnership Initiative for Airbus with China
- Major Partnership Signed in the Field of Security Systems for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
Beijing, 07 December 2004
EADS, a global leader in aerospace and defence, has achieved another major success in China with the signing of an agreement for 23 single-aisle Airbus aircraft. The signing took place in the presence of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who is currently visiting the People’s Republic of China. “We are very proud that China has made its choice in favour of Airbus,” stated EADS CEO Rainer Hertrich, who is accompanying the Chancellor on his visit. “2004 has been a very successful year for EADS and Airbus in China.”
Airbus has already received 58 new orders from China since the beginning of 2004. Twenty-one A320s were ordered in January by China Southern, making it one of the largest clients for the A320 in the Asia-Pacific region. Three A330-300s were ordered by Cathay Pacific Airways in April, twenty A330-300s ordered by China Eastern and six A319s by Air China in October, and a contract for eight A320s with Hainan Airlines has just come into effect. The new order signed during the Chancellor’s visit raises the total figures of Airbus orders in China in 2004 to 81. “Our goal is to reach a fifty percent market share for commercial aircraft in China,” Hertrich said.
Airbus will also reinforce its cooperation with China by raising its subcontracting commitment from around $30 million per year to $60 million by 2007. The objective is to further increase this to $120 million per year by 2010.
Airbus has announced its intention to establish an engineering centre in China. From 2008, more than 200 engineers will have the opportunity to participate in Airbus developments and enhance their own expertise. This will enable China to become a full industrial partner in any future Airbus aircraft developments.
EADS has signed a major partnership agreement with Chinese partners that paves the way for EADS to lead the European bid for the integration of the security system for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. EADS will offer a global integrated security system, based on a network-centric architecture to ensure the security of all cities and areas. EADS plans to establish a simulation centre in Beijing dedicated to the security arrangements for major events.
In 2003, EADS reached a turnover of € 1.61 bn in China and secured orders worth € 2.1 bn. The backlog of orders for China amounted to € 3.5 bn at the end of 2003. Rainer Hertrich underlined the commitment of the European aerospace group to increase its China business significantly.
“In line with our long-term approach, we are planning to strengthen our presence in China,” said Hertrich. “The latest successes of EADS illustrate the soundness of our strategic partnership with China. We are seeking to expand our partnership opportunities in the areas of research, development, sourcing, manufacturing and after-sales-service,” added Hertrich.
Eurocopter has already signed a framework contract with AVIC II in October for the joint development and production of a new multipurpose helicopter that will be available on the world market in 2010. Another contract had been signed in Paris last June to set up a production line in Harbin for the EC 120 helicopter.
On top of this, the most promising prospects for helicopters in China are in the areas of emergency services, rescue and law enforcement, mission segments in which the EC135 and EC145 offer unrivalled capabilities.
EADS has already entered a new phase in developing industrial and strategic partnerships with China based on joint development, production and export. The $30 million investment made by EADS in the aeronautical manufacturer AviChina in October 2003, providing a 5% stake in AviChina, opened up the way for reinforced cooperation with AVIC II in the helicopter field. This was the first-ever foreign investment in a Chinese aerospace company.
EADS is supporting the involvement of the Chinese industry in the Galileo programme under the umbrella of the European Space Agency ESA. A respective agreement has been signed between the European Galileo Joint Undertaking and the National Remote Sensing Chinese Center (NRSCC).
Track Record of Cooperation
The industrial cooperation between Airbus and the Chinese aviation industry dates back to 1985, when Airbus sold its first three aircraft to China. Among the 40 Asian Airbus customers are Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Sichuan Airlines and Hainan Airlines, as well as Air Macao, Dragonair, Cathay Pacific and Air Hong Kong. Airbus predicts that China may have a need for more than 1,300 large aircraft by the year 2022, becoming world’s second largest aviation market after the United States.
The Airbus fleet in service on the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao has grown to more than 260 today from 29 in 1995. Cooperation with the Chinese aerospace industry has also proven to be very successful. Today, more than half of Airbus’s worldwide fleet contains Chinese door and wing components.
Chengdu Aircraft Corporation is one of the two suppliers in the world for the rear passenger door of A320 aircraft. The company also manufactures the main parts of the A320 nose fuselage, which includes section 11 floor grids, nose landing gear bay and frame 1. The first ship sets of these parts were delivered to Airbus in June 2004. Shenyang Aircraft Corporation produces and assembles the emergency exit doors for A320 Family aircraft, and is the sole supplier of such parts in the world. The company also manufactures fixed leading edges, wing interspar ribs, cargo doors and skin plates for the A320 Family aircraft. Xi’an Aircraft Company currently produces electronics bay doors for Airbus A320 Family and A330/A340 Family aircraft. The company also produces fixed trailing edges for the wings of the A320 Family aircraft, as well as brake blades and medium air ducts for the A330/A340 Family aircraft. Hong Yuan Aviation Forging & Casting (HYFC), based in Sanyuan county in Shaanxi Province, is producing titanium forging parts, which are used to mount aircraft powerplants to wings. Guizhou Aviation Industrial Group produces maintenance jigs and tools for Airbus aircraft.
The first successes of Eurocopter in China go back to the 1960s, when it supplied light helicopters: Alouette, Gazelle, etc. This relationship developed in the 1970s with the sale of BO105 and Super Frelon. In the 1990s, Eurocopter strengthened its industrial cooperation for the joint development with AVIC II and Singapore Tech of the light single-engine EC 120 helicopter. Assembled in the Harbin Aircraft Industry factory, this helicopter has had a very successful career to date, with over 400 sold around the world. Eurocopter also set up a joint subsidiary with Citic Off-Shore Helicopter Company (COHC), for the maintenance of helicopters of all types (Eurocopter’s stake is 10%).
EADS also has a foothold in other sectors: In space, EADS Astrium and CASC signed an agreement in 1994 to set up the joint venture Euraspace. A contract for the first radio broadcasting satellite Sinosat 1 was then signed in 1995. The company Spot Image, in which EADS Space hold a 40% share, has twenty receiving stations spread worldwide. A terrestrial station located close to Beijing has been supplying China with geographic data beamed down by satellite since 1986. The Myun station was the first to use the images from the SPOT 5 satellite in September 2002, with the help of EADS data processing equipment.
Finally, EADS Socata has supplied over 70 training aircraft to the Civilian Aviation Flying College in Chengdu, enabling it to provide initial training each year for several hundred pilots going on to fly for all Chinese airlines.
EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. EADS recorded sales amounting to €30.1 billion in 2003 and employs over 109,000 people around the world. The EADS group consists of the Airbus aircraft manufacturer, the world’s largest helicopter manufacturer, Eurocopter, and the joint venture MBDA, the world’s second-largest missile manufacturer. EADS is also the major partner of the Eurofighter consortium, the prime contractor for the Ariane launcher, the architect of the A400M military transport aircraft and the biggest industrial partner for Galileo, the European satellite navigation system.
Contacts
| Patrice Kreis |
Tel.: +33 1 42 24 24 26 |
| Rainer Ohler |
Tel.: +49 89 607 34235 |
| Miguel Sanchez |
Tel.: +34 91 585 77 89 |
| Gregor v. Kursell |
Tel.: +49 177 725 30 27 |
