Mazda Motor Corp., a one-third Ford Motor Co. owned Japanese automotive manufacturer, has been considering plans to expand in China, the world’s second largest auto market. The plans will be part of anticipating a leap in sales to 80 percent by 2008. A senior executive said that the expectation is more than double of its dealership network in the market.

According to Kiyoshi Ozaki, head of Mazda’s Chinese business, Mazda’s plans include the expansion of its web of car dealers across the huge but hyper-competitive market, from 104 at present to 220 by April 2008.

Ozaki said that Mazda is planning to have 180,000 vehicles sold within 2008, moving more than 100,000 units in the current year. But, he did not provide historical comparisons. Even the company did not give country-specific sales figures. There also did not declare any plans regarding future investments in China, which has the world’s fourth largest economy.

Considering its various partnerships, Mazda has an annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles in China. However, it isn’t yet fully utilized.

Mazda along with its largest shareholder Ford are scrambling to expand in the market, taking into account the fierce competition and over-capacity. It has sparked a years-long price war that has squeeze profit margins.

In fact, Mazda together with its local partner First Automobile Works, last August, have cut the price of Chinese-made Mazda6 wagons by almost 20 per cent in the southern province of Guangdong.

China is really in its rapid growth. Multinational players were able to feel it through achieving impressive recent sales improvement. The overall Chinese vehicle sales rose 24 percent in the first 10 months of the year at 7.15 million units. Changan Ford Mazda Automobile, a three-way tie-up between Ford, Mazda and Changan Automobile Co Ltd., got 150,365 vehicles sold within those months, showing 59 per cent sales growth.

To cope with the anticipated further growth of the market, Ford and its partners have unveiled a $510 million vehicle manufacturing plant in the eastern city of Nanjing, near Shanghai. With it, the annual production capacity of Ford will be boosted to over 410,000 units in the country.