China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (Caiga) acquired leading general aircraft maker Cirrus Aircraft in the United States in 2011. Caiga is an unit of state-owned China Aviation Industry Corp (Avic), the country’s largest aircraft maker.
The acquisition of Cirrus was the first made by China’s aviation industry in the US aircraft manufacturing sector. The take-over by China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (Caiga) helped the once debt-ridden Cirrus to develop new products and expand its share in the global market to more than 30%.
By the end of this year, Minnesota-based Cirrus will roll out a single-engine, very light business jet of seven to eight seats. Trial flights are due next year.
The merger with Cirrus allowed Caiga to share resources and talent in the US and in China. Caiga is also planning to set up overseas research and development centres in Europe. Caiga’s home-made aircraft are mostly used in areas such as flight training, natural disasters emergency photography, and maritime salvage services.
Caiga introduced a new production line from Cirrus in Zhuhai to meet growing domestic demand for private jets. The first 50 aircrafts will be delivered later this year. (courtesy to the source South China Morning Post).