Norwegian supplier Kongsberg Automotive has won a contract to supply automatic shifters in China to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. for a new mid-sized vehicle.

The five-year contract is valued at 175 million yuan (US$ 28.1 million), with production to begin in 2014. Kongsberg's factory in the east China city of Wuxi will supply the shifters.

The deal indicates that Geely is starting to tap the supplier network of its Volvo Car Corp. subsidiary. Kongsberg, a leading producer of automatic shifters in Europe, is a Volvo supplier.

Geely acquired Volvo from Ford Motor Co. in 2010. Kongsberg's technical center in Wuxi will design the component.

Joachim Magnusson, Kongsberg's executive vice president of driveline components, said: "This important order with Geely shows that our long-term strategy of establishing our Asia technical center in Wuxi, China is paying off."