Encouraged by China's policy of further opening up the automotive industry, the BMW Group continued to increase the company's investment in China.
As of February 11, 2022, the new joint venture contract of BMW Brilliance Automotive Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "BMW Brilliance"), a joint venture of the BMW Group in China, came into effect, and the validity period of the joint venture between the BMW Group and its Chinese partners was extended to 2040.
This move reflects the BMW Group's long-term optimism in China's economy, as well as its long-term commitment to making China home and working hand in hand with China, and is also the latest example of China's expansion of high-level opening up, especially in the automotive industry.
Under the new joint venture contract, the BMW Group's stake in BMW Brilliance was changed to 75%, and its partner Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Limited indirectly held the remaining 25%.
The first joint venture with a foreign shareholding ratio of more than 50% was born
As early as 2018, the opening of foreign equity restrictions in the automotive industry began to be put on the agenda. According to the Special Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment Access issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce, from 1 January 2022, in the field of automobile manufacturing, the restriction on foreign ownership in passenger car manufacturing and the restriction that the same foreign investor can establish two or fewer joint ventures producing similar vehicle products in China will be abolished. With the official implementation of the policy, BMW Brilliance has become the first joint venture car company to be controlled by more than 50% by foreign capital.
Chiptzer, Chairman of the BMW Group
Chiptse, Chairman of the BMW Group, said: "This is an important step for the BMW Group to invest in China, and we will continue to strengthen our long-term commitment to the Chinese market and continue our business development. We have always believed that the success of the BMW Group in China is inseparable from the growth of the joint venture BMW Brilliance. The new joint venture contract has been extended until 2040, which will lay a solid foundation for BMW's sustainable business success in China, while also contributing to the development and prosperity of local and other interested parties in Liaoning. ”
Increase production capacity again
According to the data, BMW delivered more than 850,000 BMW and MINI cars in the Chinese market last year, an increase of 8.9% year-on-year, and won the first place in the sales list of domestic luxury brands. As a concrete measure of BMW's continued investment in China, BMW Brilliance will usher in another capacity increase this year: the existing plant in Shenyang's Dadong District is currently undergoing a full expansion, and a new plant in Tiexi District is also under construction. Thanks to this, the BMW Group's production capacity in China will be expanded, the variety of locally produced models will be further increased, and more pure electric models will be introduced for domestic production.
According to BMW's previous plan, in 2022, the BMW brand will present five pure electric vehicle models for Chinese users, including the innovative BMW iX, the innovative BMW i4 and the pure electric BMW 3 series produced in Shenyang. In addition, the bmw i7, the first all-electric luxury flagship sedan, will be unveiled within next year. By the end of 2023, the BMW Group will offer around 13 pure electric products in the Chinese market. By 2025, a quarter of the BMW Group's sales in the Chinese market will be pure electric vehicles.
Win-win cooperation has become the main theme
Dr. Peter, Director of Finance at the BMW Group, said: "BMW Brilliance's success stems from the sincere cooperation of all parties involved in the partnership and the strong support of the Liaoning Provincial Government. Over the past decade, BMW Brilliance has invested more than RMB 73 billion in the region, and the BMW brand has become the leading high-end car brand in China with the full support of BMW Brilliance. The new joint venture contract has created favorable conditions for future-oriented and coordinated development. ”
BMW Brilliance has maintained steady growth since its establishment in 2003, which has strongly promoted the development of the local economy and actively supported the local government to build an advanced automobile manufacturing industry cluster. BMW Brilliance has been the largest taxpayer in Shenyang for 15 consecutive years, paying 38 billion yuan in taxes in 2020 alone. Last year, BMW Brilliance's total domestic procurement totaled nearly 33 billion yuan.
Gao Le, President and CEO of the BMW Group Greater China, said: "In the transformation of the BMW Group towards electrification, digitalization and sustainable development, China, as a leader in these aspects, is our best choice and best partner. The BMW Group will continue to take China as its home, its counterparts with China, and its joint venture partners will continue to invest in the future to make long-term contributions to China's economic growth and social development. ”
Based on its confidence in the Chinese economy and its long-term commitment to the Chinese market, the BMW Group is committed to continuing to invest in China, making greater contributions to the synergy and sustainable development of china's economy, society and the environment, and continuing to support people's pursuit of a better life with high-quality and innovative products and services.