BMW to start exporting from China
December 21, 2011 Category Automotive, Automotive Metals & Minerals
BMW will become the first foreign luxury car manufacturer to export China-made cars when it begins shipping locally produced long-wheelbase 5 Series sedans overseas at the end of the year. Christoph Stark, President and CEO of BMW Group Region China, said that as a trial effort, the shipments will initially not be big. “The main market of course is here (in China), because we can’t even supply enough here,” he said. BMW’s new 5 Series sedan has proven “extremely successful” in China, Stark said, after it was launched in August last year. Its share of the mid-sized premium sedan segment has surged to 27%, up from 15% more than a year ago. The company currently builds the 3 Series and 5 Series in China. Combined with imported BMW and Mini vehicles, the automaker has reported sales of 195,868 units in the country in the first 10 months, a 45% increase over a year ago. For the past two years, BMW has been in the fast lane in China and has seen sales more than double from 900,000 vehicles in 2009. The company will produce the X1 SUV and the new 3 Series at a new plant in Shenyang next year. A sample X1 in trial production at the new facility was displayed at the Guangzhou auto show in November. A new engine plant will also be put into operation at its joint venture, the automaker’s fourth engine plant in the world. “For us the significance is that it is the first time we will produce engines in China,” Stark said. “And it is the latest, most modern technology we have in the group.” He also revealed that BMW plans to develop new energy vehicles with its joint venture partner under a new, local brand, but did not provide details. The automaker launched two new models at the Guangzhou show. The first BMW station wagon sold in the country, the 5 Series Touring sells for CNY666,600 and the M5 is priced at CNY1.86 million, the China Daily reports.
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