Kobe Steel forms a joint venture company producing automotive aluminum panels in China

Kobe Steel, Ltd. announces that it finalized the registration of a joint venture company producing automotive aluminum panels in China on January 9, following approval received from regulatory authorities in Japan and China. This was in accordance with an agreement signed on August 8, 2024, with Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. and Baowu Aluminum Technology Co., Ltd. (Baowu Aluminum), both owned by China Baowu Steel Group, to form a joint venture company by integrating continuous heat treatment and finishing lines for aluminum panels with the goal of expanding the automotive aluminum panel business and responding to automakers’ CO₂ reduction needs in China.

On February 13, the Company held an inauguration ceremony in Shanghai, China, where the joint venture's headquarters is located, inviting customers and related parties.

The joint venture company will manufacture and sell aluminum panels for automakers in China, while promoting recycling of scrap generated by itself and its customers as part of its CO₂ reduction initiatives. As the demand for aluminum panels continues to rise in China, the company is committed to doing its part to reduce automotive weight and realize a decarbonized society.

Profile of the joint venture company

(1) Company name:

Kobelco Baosteel Automotive Aluminum Rolled Products Co., Ltd.

(2) Ratio of shareholding:

50% by Kobe Steel, Ltd. (via its China headquarters Kobelco (China) Holding Co., Ltd.)
50% jointly by Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. and Baowu Aluminum Technology Co., Ltd.

(3) Capital:

Approx. 1.0 billion yuan (Approx. 20.0 billion yen)

(4) Location registered:

Shanghai, China

(5) Manufacturing bases:

Two locations at Sanmenxia (Henan Province, China) and Tianjin

(6) Key executive:

Chairman Wu Jun (from Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd.)
President Tsuyoshi Nakasai (from Kobe Steel)

The Kobe Steel Group, also known as the Kobelco Group, aims to further strengthen its efforts to address the materiality (medium- to long-term priority issues) by pursuing the Group’s uniqueness while utilizing internal capital, such as its technologies, human resources, and know-how cultivated in diverse businesses, in combination with external capital such as relationships with a wide variety of customers and business partners. Through this, the Group will strive to realize a world in which people, now and in the future, can fulfill their hopes and dreams while enjoying safe, secure, and prosperous lives.

Inauguration ceremony