Volkswagen China broke ground on a new gearbox plant in the western area of Tianjin's Economic-Technological Development Area on Friday.

"Volkswagen's state-of-the-art gearbox DQ380 and DQ500 will go on stream in the first half of 2014 as scheduled," said He Shushan, chairman of the Administrative Commission of Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area.

"The total investment of the entire project is as high as 900 million euros. The transmission DQ380 and DQ500 represents the most advanced technology in the field. It only took six months from the project initiation to the start of this plant."

"Tianjin is positioned by the nation as the base of the high-end manufacturing industry and research and development transformation. Volkswagen's project in Tianjin is a leader in the manufacturing industry which can not only create output value, but attract many supporting enterprises as well," He said.

The first phase of the plant, with an investment of 1.84 billion yuan, is expected to start producing DQ380 gearboxes at the end of 2014 with an annual capacity of 450,000 units. In the meantime, the first phase of the project will create more than 1,500 direct employment opportunities.

Based on market responses, the plant is expected to make DQ500 gearboxes while expanding the production of DQ380 gearboxes in the second and third phases. Both of the two types are Volkswagen's latest automatic gearboxes, which will be employed by Volkswagen, Audis and Skoda models made in China.

The Volkswagen's transmission project is the biggest manufacturing project in Tianjin wholly funded by foreign companies.

The plant is to make the most advanced dual-shift gearboxes in the world, especially DQ500 gearboxes which boast smooth shifting, a more comfortable driving experience and excellent transmission function and are the most high-end products made worldwide.

The plant serves as a driving force for the development of the automobile industry in Tianjin, facilitating the establishment of high-end and high-quality automobile industry structure.

In addition, Volkswagen will bring to China the German double-rule vocational education system. It will establish machine tools and skills training center for Volkswagen plants in China, aiming to cultivate large quantities of qualified local auto workers.

In 2011, Volkswagen (China), together with Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen, managed to deliver a total of 2.66 million new vehicles.

"The production of DQ380 series transmission in China marks the introduction of the latest transmission technology into China. This is another action of Volkswagen to practice its long-term commitment to China, which has become our second home market. To meet local customers' needs for advanced energy-saving products, Volkswagen Group introduces the concept of global environmental protection into China," said Jochem Heizmann, chairman and CEO of Volkswagen China.

The Volkswagen automatic transmission plant in Tianjin introduced the global successful "Think Blue Factory" for the first time into China. The advanced production mode will greatly reduce the consumption of energy and water, carbon-dioxide emissions, chemical solvents and other wastes. The plant will run under the most strict environment-protection standards.

"Via this project, Volkswagen will once again establish a brand-new industry benchmarks for the protection of environment and resources," Heizmann said.

In China, Volkswagen Group has consistently adhered to the idea of sustainable development and has brought the successful environmental protection concepts to China.