Sales rose 46 percent to 9.0 billion yuan.

The Shenyang-based automaker benefited as demand for luxury vehicles outstripped regular cars in the world's largest auto market.

Brilliance and partner BMW plan to triple their production capacity to 300,000 by 2013 by expanding an existing site and building a 5.2 billion yuan plant in the northeastern city.

Earnings "came in better than expected" due to higher margins from Brilliance's BMW venture and a tax gain due to the sale of an unprofitable unit, said Ken Lee, a Hong Kong-based analyst at UOB Kay Hian Holdings Ltd. in a note to clients.

Luxury Growth
Fueled by government subsidies and economic growth of 10.3 percent, China's vehicle sales jumped 32 percent last year.

The nation's luxury-car segment grew 48 percent in the same period, according to industry consultant J.D. Power and Associates.

"We are very confident in the status of the BMW brand in China," Brilliance Chairman Wu Xiaoan said at a briefing in Hong Kong. "What is limiting us now is only capacity."

Profit may grow more than 30 percent this year as replacement-car demand in China gains, said Yao Wei, a Shanghai- based analyst at Everbright Securities Co.

Brilliance makes BMW's 3 and 5 series sedans in China. It also has a Chinese minibus venture with Toyota Motor Corp.

Brilliance will increase the number of BMW dealerships to 270, mostly in smaller cities outside Beijing and Shanghai, compared with 210 dealers at the end of last year.