PLYMOUTH, Mich. (AP) -- Johnson Controls Inc.'s auto parts unit plans to open 11 new manufacturing sites in China during the next few years to handle expected growth.
The company's Plymouth, Mich., Automotive Experience unit, which makes seats, electronics and interiors, now has 57 sites in China. The company said in a statement Thursday that the expansion comes after 16 years of continuous growth.
"We are focusing on innovative complete interior solutions in China that anticipate market needs and meet customer expectations in terms of differentiation, comfort, safety and sustainability," Johannes Roters, the company's China general manager, said in a statement.
JCI's Automotive Experience unit, based in Plymouth, Mich., near Detroit, had sales in China of $4.6 billion last year. It employs about 25,000 people in the country, including its joint ventures. The company has been in China since 1997. It also has 10 engineering sites in eight cities that employ more than 1,150 engineers.
Customers include all major international and national automakers that sell vehicles in China, the company said.
Shares of Milwaukee-based JCI fell 23 cents to $42.51 in morning trading Thursday as the broader market declined. They hit a 52-week high of $42.79 on Wednesday. They traded as low as $24.75 last November.
