(Yicai Global) May 7 -- Major Chinese carmaker Guangzhou Automobile Group and Toyota plan to splurge over USD2.2 billion to ramp up production of new-energy vehicles and combustion engines.

GAC Toyota, a 50-50 joint venture between the pair, will build a new facility capable of producing 400,000 new-energy vehicles every year, GAC said in a statement. More than USD1.6 billion will go toward the factory, set to be fully operational by 2022 after two-phases of construction.

The firms' other joint venture GAC Toyota Engine, which is majority-owned by the Japanese carmaker, also plans to build an engine plant for USD605 million, the statement added. The facility will make 432,000 engines each year once it gets up and running in 2021.

Shares in GAC [SHA:601238] had climbed 0.52 percent to CNY11.64 (USD1.72) as of 10.45 a.m., outpacing the Shanghai Composite's 0.39 percent gain as of the same time. 

Editor: James Boynton