Airbus Bets Big on U.S. and China With Dual A320 Assembly Line Expansion

European planemaker’s near-simultaneous launches in Tianjin and Mobile underscore strategic push to strengthen manufacturing in world’s two largest aviation markets.

Airbus inaugurated a second final assembly line for A320 family narrowbody jets in Tianjin, China, on Tuesday, just days after announcing a similar expansion at its Mobile, Alabama, facility, marking a strategic push by the European planemaker to strengthen production in the world’s two largest economies.

The Tianjin facility, located in a port city in northern China, represents the second such assembly line in both China and across Asia. The opening followed a meeting Monday in Beijing between China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, where both sides committed to exploring opportunities to boost investment and strengthen collaboration in China’s aviation sector.

According to Chinese media outlet China.org.cn, Wang highlighted that China’s market has been steadily growing in recent years, making it the world’s second-largest consumer market and second-largest import market. The minister said China will continue to promote modernization, creating significant opportunities for foreign companies, including Airbus.

Wang expressed hope that Airbus would use the opening of the assembly line to enhance cooperation with China and provide more high-quality aviation products and services, the publication reported.

Faury stated that Airbus is confident in the Chinese economy and the growth of China’s civil aviation industry. He added that the European manufacturer is dedicated to expanding its presence in the Chinese market and contributing to economic and trade cooperation between China and France, as well as between China and the European Union, according to the report.

The Tianjin expansion comes just nine days after Airbus revealed on Oct. 13 that it had launched its second A320 final assembly line in Mobile. The manufacturer said the Alabama facility has tripled in size since it started manufacturing commercial aircraft in the U.S. in 2015.

The dual expansions underscore Airbus’s strategy to increase its footprint in the world’s two biggest economies by establishing additional A320 assembly lines in both markets.

Airbus operates a global manufacturing network with more than 20 sites, each responsible for producing and assembling various aircraft components that are then sent to final assembly lines where complete aircraft are built. The European manufacturer currently operates 12 final assembly lines across five different global sites.

The company’s headquarters in Toulouse, France, houses two final assembly lines for the single-aisle A320 family and one each for the widebody A330 and A350 aircraft.