Photo/Shetuwang

Mar. 4 (NBD) – Frankfurt, Germany-based KION Group announced Tuesday the company will establish a new company and also a new factory for counterbalance trucks with its anchor investor WeiChai Power (02338.HK, 000338.SZ) to capitalize on the increasing electrification of industrial trucks for further growth in China. 

KION Group will own a 95 percent stake in the company while Weichai Power will hold the remaining 5 percent.

As for the new factory, KION Group will invest around 100 million euros (110 million U.S. dollars) in the site, which will include a KION Value Competence Center. With construction expected to commence at the end of this year, the factory is slated to be put into operation in 2022.  

On the same day, KION Group also announced its fiscal results for 2019. The Group reaped 8.81 billion euros in revenue for the year, up 10.1 percent year over year. Net income jumped by 10.7 percent to 444.8 million euros. 

KION Group is the largest manufacturer of industrial trucks in Europe and the second-largest in the world as well as a global leader in automation technology. National Business Daily noticed that Weichai Power bought a stake in the German company as early as 2012, and increased its shareholding to 45 percent in July 2018 after multiple transactions. 

Stock of Weichai Power rose by 1.06 percent to 15.22 yuan in the A-share market on Wednesday. 

Email: gaohan@nbd.com.cn