text: Shanghai Ek Chor opens new motorcyle plant . SHANGHAI 1996-08-28 Shanghai-Ek Chor Motorcycle Co , a Sino-Thai joint venture , opened a new plant to produce gasoline engines in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai , the Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday . The plant , requiring an investment of three billion baht , has a floor space of 50,000 square metres and is designed to produce 600,000 gasoline engines a year , to be sold in China , South America , the Middle East and Africa , it said . Capacity is expected to reach one million engines by the year 2000 , it said . Shanghai-Ek Chor is jointly owned by the Shanghai Automobile Corporation and Ek Chor China Motorcycle . It started operations in January 1985 and has registered capital of 1.56 billion baht , it said but gave no further details . The joint venture has two motorcycle plants making Xingfu motorcycles and aims to be China 's biggest producer by the year 2000 , with output of two million units .