May 25, 2009 (China Knowledge) - BorgWarner United Transmission Systems Co Ltd (BWUTS), BorgWarner Inc's China joint venture (JV) with China Automobile Development United Investment Co Ltd (CDUI), recently started the construction of a manufacturing base in Dalian, a coastal city in northeastern China's Liaoning Province, the China Daily reported on Thursday.

The JV, with investment of US$200 million, will produce dual clutch transmission (DCT) modules for gearboxes, said Bernd Matthes, president and general manager of BWUTS.

The JV, which is 66% owned by the U.S. auto component maker, is expected to complete construction of the second phase in 2016 and the third phase in 2020. It will start operation in 2011 and will have an annual production capacity of 100,000 DCT modules, which will grow to 3.5 million after ten years.

Currently, more than 80% of the automobile technologies have been localized. The transmission gearbox is the last one to be localized, said Hanson Zhang, general manger of BWUTS.

The company will unveil its latest DCT design in China, which will be the company's future market, according to the paper.

In addition, BorgWarner is in talks with First Automotive Group Corp about a possible gearbox assembly program to be located in Changchun.