(Yicai) March 14 -- Chinese precision mold and structural part supplier Ningbo Zhenyu Technology announced it plans to invest EUR72 million (USD78.8 million) to build a new energy vehicle motor parts production base in Serbia.

Zhenyu will set up a project company in northern Serbia that will invest in and operate a base producing lamination precision parts, which are key components for the drive motor of NEVs, the Ningbo-based company said in a statement late yesterday.

The production base will start construction in June and be completed by the end of 2028, Zhenyu noted, without revealing any further details about the project.

Zhenyu chose Serbia because its clients already have factories in central and eastern Europe, so building a production base there will help the company better serve its customers, the firm said. Moreover, Serbia has good industrial supporting infrastructure, attractive investment preferential policies, and sufficient human resources, it added.

Thanks to the strong demand for motor laminations, Zhenyu’s operating revenue from the motor business more than doubled to CNY1.5 billion (USD203 million) in 2022 from the previous year, accounting for one-fourth of its total operating revenue that year, according to the company’s latest annual report.

Chinese electric vehicle and power battery giant BYD and German auto parts behemoth Robert Bosch are among Zhenyu’s main clients. In addition to motor core structural parts, Zhenyu also produces precision structural parts for lithium batteries.

Zhenyu's shares [SHE: 300953] were trading up 1.6 percent at CNY55.68 (USD7.74) as of 1.45 p.m. in Shenzhen today, after earlier gaining as much as 4.1 percent.

Editor: Futura Costaglione