General situation of Chinese automotive sheet production

SteelOrbis Shanghai In 2005, Chinese automotive sheet production totaled 5.6 million mt, with the major producers being Baosteel, Wuhan Steel and Anshan New Steel. With production totaling 2 million mt, the automotive sheet produced by Baosteel covers hot-rolled sheet (hot-rolled pickled sheet), common carbon cold-rolled sheet, galvanized sheet, and hot-dip galvanized sheet - all of which are used for various automotive parts and internal and external coverings. Through continuous technical improvement and advancing process technology, Baosteel has further enhanced product surface quality and mechanical property stability, and has made new progress in quality testing. As regards Wuhan Steel, its production capacity of automotive sheet is 610,000 mt annually. In 2005, Wuhan Steel finished the construction of its No. 2 cold rolled plant and commenced production. Thus its automotive sheet production is expected to see a sharp increase in 2006. Anshan New Steel's annual production is 633,000 mt of automotive sheet, which can meet the different requirements of cars, trucks and other automotive vehicles. Moreover, it has also introduced advanced equipment from the German LOI Company, a move which has contributed significantly to the remarkable improvement in product quality. With the expansion in the automotive steel production capacity of Baosteel, Wuhan Steel and Anshan New Steel, and given also the continuous improvement in product quality, China's dependence on automotive steel imports will continue to diminish.