73 billion yuan – this is the latest total investment in Shenyang announced by BMW Brilliance.
From the tentative leasing of production lines in 2003 to the investment and construction of factories in 2010; from the construction of a single production base, to the R&D center, powertrain factory, power battery center, etc. gathered in Shenyang, what makes BMW invest all the way "fast and fast"? At the beginning of the New Year, the reporter walked into BMW Brilliance to find out.
BMW Brilliance's new tiexi plant under construction (photo taken on December 28, 2021, drone photo) Xinhua News Agency reporter Yang Qing
One out of every three vehicles is delivered to China
Walking into the main office building of BMW Brilliance's Tiexi factory, what you see is a suspended mobile production line, with new cars of different colors one after another, ready to enter the assembly workshop to complete the assembly of vehicles, and every 55 seconds or so, a new car comes off the production line.
On February 16, vehicles from the mobile production line of BMW Brilliance's Tiexi plant were ready to enter the assembly workshop to complete the assembly of vehicles Xinhua News Agency reporter Yang Qing
In the workshop, the huge orange robotic arm twists its body to accurately cooperate with the grasping and welding of parts; the intelligent material truck automatically and orderly transports various parts... "China is the largest market of the BMW Group." Gao Le, President and CEO of the BMW Group Greater China, said.
On February 16, in the body workshop of BMW Brilliance's Tiexi factory, the robot arm welded the body of Xinhua News Agency reporter Yang Qing
According to the data, in 2021, BMW delivered about 2.522 million vehicles in the global market and 846,000 BMW and MINI brand cars in the mainland. One in every three vehicles of the BMW Group is delivered to China.
At the beginning of its establishment in 2003, BMW Brilliance adopted an asset-light investment strategy of renting production lines, and only began to invest heavily in 2010. Today, the BMW plant has fully bloomed in Shenyang.
Between 2003 and 2008, BMW's sales on the mainland soared from 19,000 to 66,000 units. In 2021, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, BMW's sales in the mainland increased by 8.9% year-on-year, marking a new high for the second consecutive year.
At the end of 2021, the BMW Group announced at its online annual meeting that it will uphold the principle of "China first" and give priority to the needs of the Chinese market in new product development.
At the beginning of entering the mainland, BMW only launched two general-purpose models, but they soon found that mainland customers had unique requirements for car size and space, and then quickly launched long-wheelbase models, creating a precedent for BMW to customize for the single market. Nowadays, all types of BMW cars are available on the road.
BMW cars are driving into more and more people's homes
Open the map of Shenyang City, BMW 4S stores are scattered throughout the city, and the nearest two are less than 10 kilometers apart. Walking in the streets and alleys, BMW cars are no longer rare.
Yu Haitao, sales manager of Shenyang Huabao Automobile Sales Service Co., Ltd., said that more than 10 years ago, buying BMW cars, more or some companies. Nowadays, more and more families choose BMW as an improved car, or even the first family car. "In the shop, some models have to wait for half a year to mention the car."
Liu Mengqi, a Shenyang resident, is a BMW owner who received a BMW car from her father when she got married in October 2021. She said: "My dad said it was nice to buy a bike when he got married. ”
The continuous growth of residents' income is a strong source of power for the growth of the market. In 2021, the per capita disposable income of mainland residents will be 35,128 yuan, an increase of 9.1% over the previous year. The number of motor vehicles in the country was 395 million, an increase of 6.32% year-on-year.
The strong growth in demand has driven the localization of BMW, and more and more BMW cars are produced in China, which is guaranteed by advances in manufacturing technology.
As an engineer who grew up from the workers, Wu Shaoyu, who graduated from the Shenyang Equipment Manufacturing Engineering School, is now dealing more with robots. Here, workers are the "traders" of modern technology.
Wu Shaoyu works in the body workshop of BMW Brilliance's Tiexi factory on February 16, xinhua news agency reporter Yang Qing
Wei Lande, president and CEO of BMW Brilliance Automotive Co., Ltd., said that he has worked at BMW for more than 30 years and visited factories around the world, "The factory in Shenyang is groundbreaking and represents the future of manufacturing."
Over the years, the green demand in the Chinese market has freed up new growth space for BMW.
"China has become a global leader in electric vehicles and a key driver of digitalization." Peter, BMW Group's director of China affairs, said that China is the best choice and partner in BMW's transformation to electrification, digitalization and sustainable development.
In 2021, the number of new energy vehicles in the mainland increased by 59.25% year-on-year, far ahead of traditional power vehicles. It is expected that by 2025, a quarter of BMW's sales in the Chinese market will be pure electric vehicles.
Optimistic about China, will continue to invest
On February 11, BMW Group and Brilliance China announced at the same time that they will complete the equity delivery of a total of about 27.941 billion yuan in the near future. BMW's stake in BMW Brilliance will increase from 50% to 75%.
At the beginning of the year, the mainland just relaxed the restrictions on foreign ownership in passenger car manufacturing.
For the capital increase and share expansion, BMW released the news that based on its confidence in the Chinese economy and long-term commitment to the Chinese market, BMW is committed to continuing to invest in China.
BMW Brilliance's new joint venture contract also came into effect on February 11, and the validity period was extended until 2040. Gao Le said that the approval of the new joint venture contract and the related BMW investment project in Liaoning is the latest example of China's expansion of high-level opening up, especially the opening up of China's automotive industry.
As early as April 2018, the mainland issued a timetable for further opening up the automobile industry, clarifying that the restrictions on foreign ownership of passenger cars will be lifted in 2022. On January 1, 2022, the mainland fulfilled its promises as scheduled.
In a video of "Time Treasure Construction" filmed by BMW Brilliance, the whole process of construction of the new factory in Tiexi and the upgrading and expansion project of the Dadong factory was shown, which fully demonstrated the speed of China.
From parallel approval to breakfast meeting, from Dadong to Tiexi, the continuously optimized business environment escorts investment. Luo Jing, director of the Industrial and Information Technology Bureau of Dadong District, Shenyang City, said that Dadong completed all the processes such as planning, land acquisition, and leveling within two years, and completed multiple licenses involving land and construction procedures within one day.
"We are very grateful to the Chinese governments at all levels for their strong support for BMW's development in China." Gao Le said that the BMW Group will continue to take China as its home, its counterparts with China, and continue to invest with its joint venture partners to make long-term contributions to China's economic growth and social development. (Reporters Niu Jiwei, Wang Wei, Yu Yitong)
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