BMW to launch new car brand in China
BMW AG plans to unveil a new car brand for BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd., its joint venture with China's Brilliance China Automotive Holdings, according to Chinese media.
The new brand's first model will be an electric vehicle, the Beijing Morning Post reported, citing BMW Group China President Christoph Stark.
The Chinese government now requires global car brands to create new brands for their joint ventures and introduce EV technology into China.
BMW Brilliance has an assembly plant in the northeast China city of Shenyang. The joint venture is building a second plant in the city which will start production in the first half of this year, the Beijing newspaper reported.
The new plant will double the joint venture's annual production capacity to 200,000 vehicles.
In 2011, BMW sold 232,000 vehicles in China. The Shenyang plant produces the BMW 3 series and 5 series sedans, according to the newspaper.
