The Chinese automotive manufacturer Changan AutoMobile announced Monday it is to base its worldwide headquarters of its powertrain and research and development divisions in England's second biggest city, Birmingham.

The company has bought an entire phase of buildings on the Birmingham Business Park in the city's Solihull district to accommodate its headquarters which will employ around 200 staff.

Last September Changan moved its British operations to the business park, close to Birmingham Airport, but the company has now more than trebled its space on the park to around 7,500 sq meters to accommodate its role as a world headquarters for its development divisions.

In a statement issued today Changan UK's General Manager, Dr. Xiaoyu Zhang, said: "We are committed to turning Changan into the world's leading automotive company, and establishing advanced technology R&D facilities across the globe is fundamental to our plans for growth."

Birmingham, 200 km north of London, is the capital city of England's Midlands region and has long been established as the epicenter of Britain's automotive industry.

The company said in a statement that the move met with the support of its highly skilled and committed workforce, and will also allow Changan UK access to some of Britain's best automotive engineers.

Changan is one of the biggest car manufacturers in China and employs nearly 50,000 people worldwide and is affiliated to the state-owned China South Industries Group Corporation.

In 2014, Changan sold 2.54 million vehicles including its joint venture sales. From January to May 2015, the company sold a total of 1.25 million vehicles, putting it target to exceed 2014 sales.

Local media welcomed Changan's announcement, saying its investment had delivered a "festive boost" for Birmingham.

Mark Robinson of KWB, the consultancy handling the sale, said it was "fantastic news" for Birmingham Business Park and the automotive industry in the West Midlands.

"This represents the start of a significant amount of investment from Changan on their future expansion within Solihull," said Robinson.

(From Xinhua)