On February 11 this year, BMW Brilliance's new joint venture contract officially came into effect. The validity of the joint venture between the BMW Group and its Chinese partners has been extended to 2040.
On March 31, BMW released the first domestic BMW X5 and pure electric BMW i3 two heavyweight new cars. Putting aside the product-level innovation, the deeper meaning is BMW's actions and determination in localization and electrification.
On April 14, the product upgrade project of Dadong Factory was officially opened. This milestone is the result of the BMW Group's continuous investment in China, which explains the BMW Group's development commitment of "Home in China" and opens a new chapter of coordinated development with the same frequency resonance with China.
The Chinese market has become the key to the sustainable development of the BMW Group. The BMW Group delivered a total of 846,237 BMW and MINI vehicles in China in 2021, an increase of 8.9% year-on-year and accounting for more than 30% of the BMW Group's total global car sales.
Behind the eye-catching achievements is the successful embodiment of the BMW Group's strategy of "adapting to local conditions".
The process of localization has made great strides, and China has become a "second hometown"
In the process of localization, bmw brilliance's Shenyang production base has a total investment of more than 83 billion yuan, building BMW's single production base in the world.
Last year, the company produced a record 700,000 BMW vehicles under the challenge, which means that one in every three BMW produced worldwide is from Shenyang.
At the same time, BMW Brilliance has become the leader of the local economy, becoming the largest taxpayer in Shenyang for 16 consecutive years, paying 43 billion yuan in taxes in 2021. BMW Brilliance's commercial success has also led to the development of local industrial clusters, with BMW Brilliance's local parts suppliers growing by 9% to 436 in 2021, and local procurement volume increasing by 30% to 71.4 billion yuan, of which 60% of the share comes from local suppliers in Liaoning.
On April 14, the BMW Brilliance Dadong Plant product upgrade project was inaugurated, covering an area of approximately 910,000 square meters, and the new facility was built in accordance with the latest and highest global standards of the BMW Group in terms of digital, sustainable and lean production.
Aerial view of the Daito Factory
It is reported that BMW Brilliance's newly built third automaker in Shenyang plans to officially open in June and July this year, setting a new benchmark for intelligent manufacturing and green production. This year, BMW's localization process will enter a whole new phase.
Implement the "China First" strategy and accelerate the electrification process
"Home in China" also means giving priority to the needs of Chinese customers and creating exclusive high-quality products for Chinese customers. The much-watched domestic X5 is the latest example, this new car is tailored for the Chinese market, the wheelbase is lengthened by 130 mm, the seats in the car are also redeveloped according to the needs of Chinese consumers, and every change means repeated verification and huge efforts at the R & D and production ends. The BMW i3 released with it can be said to be "tailor-made" for Chinese users.
The new BMW i3
As a model tailored to the Chinese market, the new BMW i3 not only fills the gap in the luxury pure electric mid-size sports sedan segment, but also sets the benchmark for the segment with up to twenty high-value standard configurations. Among them, the exclusive adjustment of the chassis and rear air suspension for China's road conditions, the "angel's wing" welcome light blanket, and the unique comfortable seat in China have made the new BMW i3 a product that understands Chinese users better.
This fully highlights the BMW Group's adherence to the principle of "China first", the importance it attaches to the expectations of Chinese customers, and the rapid response to market changes to maintain the same frequency with China. BMW is building China into its world's most important innovation-driven transformation market, building a strong presence in the research and development, production and e-mobility services of new energy vehicles.
The BMW Group has delivered 1 million new energy vehicles worldwide as of December 2021. Since 2014, the BMW Group has delivered more than 140,000 new energy vehicles in China. In 2021, BMW sold more than 48,000 new energy models, an increase of 69.6% year-on-year. Among them, the pure electric BMW iX3 sold more than 21,000 units in the first full sales year.
At present, the BMW brand has released BMW iX, i4 and BMW iX3 and the new BMW i3 in China, and this month will also usher in the world premiere of the important pure electric BMW i7.
In addition to the product level, BMW will also explore the needs of Chinese users in depth in terms of supporting services. By the end of February 2022, BMW Instant Charging has dynamically linked more than 380,000 public charging piles, including more than 200,000 DC fast charging piles, and about 50,000 charging piles nationwide can provide plug-and-play charging services.
At the BMW Group's annual financial report meeting held on March 16, the BMW Group announced that the electrification process will be accelerated again: 15 pure electric models will be mass-produced and trial-produced in 2022; and the "new generation" models based on the new structure will start trial production in 2024 and be unveiled in 2025. By the end of 2025, the BMW Group plans to deliver 2 million pure electric vehicles worldwide. As the world's largest new energy vehicle market, China will undoubtedly play an important role in this process.
Sustainable Development Strategy, Supporting China's "Double Carbon"
Sustainable development is one of the cornerstones of bmw group corporate strategy, and it is also another direction for bmw to develop in synergy with the Chinese environment. The BMW Group will fully support the "double carbon" goal.
The acceleration of electrified products is an important part of this, and BMW is characterized by sustainable development across the entire industry chain. The BMW Group is the first German car company to join the Paris Agreement's commitment to the 1.5-degree temperature control target, pledging to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by 200 million tons by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2050.
Taking the new BMW i3 as an example, its entire life cycle achieves carbon emission reduction, including from design and development, supply chain, production, use to recycling stage, and at the same time, clear carbon reduction targets are proposed for suppliers, production and use stages. At the Shenyang production site, the new BMW i3 production process uses 100% renewable energy electricity, and continuously optimizes the efficiency and recycling capacity of water resources. The drive unit of the new BMW i3 uses an excitation synchronous motor that does not use rare earth materials, reducing dependence on rare metal resources.
At present, the Shenyang production base has 290,000 square meters of solar panels, ranking first in Liaoning enterprises
BMW Brilliance's Dadong plant product upgrade project implements the concept of "green" sustainable development, and its solar photovoltaic system can not only achieve spontaneous self-use, but also surplus electricity on the Internet, which is a direct embodiment of BMW's sustainable development. In 2022, the 179,000-square-meter solar panels at the Dadong plant are expected to generate more than 21 MWh of electricity. Its press shop supports the clean separation of scrap aluminium and scrap to facilitate recycling, and the paint shop enables 100% renewable water to be used in the production process, further reducing energy consumption.