Embraer's ERJ-145 final assembly line in Harbin will switch to producing Legacy business aircraft after it produces its last ERJ-145, say reports quoting Embraer's CEO Frederico Curado.
Curado, who is visiting Beijing as part of a delegation with Brazil's president Dilma Rousseff, said last month that he expected a decision on the Harbin plant after the presidential visit.
An Embraer China spokeswoman could not confirm Curado's remarks when contacted.
As of early March, Embraer had two remaining ERJ-145s to build at its Harbin plant. It earlier proposed to the Chinese authorities to begin producing E190s at the plant after it manufactures the last ERJ-145 in the second quarter of 2011.
However, this has met with opposition from the Chinese government, which perceives the E190 as competition to the domestically built Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) ARJ21.
The Harbin plant is a joint venture between Embraer and the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China, a major supplier to Comac.
Embraer has so far delivered three business aircraft, all super mid-sized Legacy 600s, in Greater China and has said it plans to increase its market share.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
