Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) -- MTU Aero Engines Holding AG said it
will help Aviation Industry Corp. of China develop engines for
the Asian country’s planned C919 airliner as the government
strives to create an independent aerospace industry.
MTU’s memorandum of understanding with Shanghai-based
AVIC’s commercial-aircraft engine division will enable the
companies to explore options on setting up a Chinese engine
maker and eventually create standalone technology, Odilo
Muehling, a spokesman at the Munich-based manufacturer, said
today by phone.
The agreement allows MTU to “become a force to be reckoned
with” in manufacturing in China, where the company already
offers maintenance, Muehling said. The engines would be
introduced “by the end of the decade,” he said, adding that
it’s too early to forecast any investment budget or potential
market size.
AVIC’s Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China affiliate is
MTU, AVIC to Develop Engines for China’s C919 Plane (Update1)
developing the single-aisle C919 as a competitor to Boeing Co.’s
737 model, the world’s biggest-selling airliner, and Airbus
SAS’s A320. MTU is a partner with General Electric Co. in making
engines for Boeing’s new twin-aisle 787 Dreamliner, and is in a
separate venture with Rolls-Royce Group Plc and United
Technologies Corp.’s Pratt & Whitney unit that makes engines for
A320s, including planes bought by China’s Sichuan Airlines.
A General Electric-Safran SA venture won a $10 billion
contract to supply engines for the first C919s last month.
China’s government intends to eventually use locally developed
engines on the 168-seat C919, which is scheduled to enter
service by 2016.
