Aug. 9, 2012 (China Knowledge) - FAW Car Co Ltd<000800>, a listed unit of Changchun-based China FAW Group Corp, said yesterday that it plans to invest RMB 4.35 billion to build a new plant for new energy vehicles.

The company said in a statement that the new plant will be completed within 22 months and will have an annual production capacity of 200,000 units.

In the first half of this year, the company's auto sales fell 35.50% YoY to 91,700 units, due to intensifying competition in the auto market.

FAW Car said earlier that it expected a loss of between RMB 45 million and RMB 75 million for the first half of this year, whereas it recorded a net profit of RMB 800 million in H1 of 2011.