BMW Brilliance starts capacity expansion

Shanghai, January 23 (Gasgoo.com) BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd., a joint venture between German carmaker BMW and Brilliance China Auto, has started expanding its manufacturing base as the second-phase project in Shenyang, northeastern China, Beijing News reported today.

The new facility, designed to produce 45,000 vehicles annually, will double the company's production capacity from 40,000 to 85,000 units per year.

The second-phase project of BMW Brilliance, close to the car venture's plant for A-class cars in Shenyang, will start operation as early as the end of this year for producing the all-new BMW models.

The next-generation BMW 5 Series, code-named "F18," has been confirmed to be manufactured in the new plant. As a new production line will be introduced to the plant, the car venture' both shareholders will negotiate for bringing in more all-new BMW models, including BMW 1 Series.

In 2008, BMW saw rapid growth in the China market. According to the data from BMW, the sales of the brand's automobiles in the Chinese Mainland increased by 27% to 62,688 units last year, including 35,163 units of BMW 3 Series and 5 Series cars produced locally by BMW Brilliance.

BMW China CEO Christoph Stark said that BMW would launch more new models to help boost its sales and keep high growth in China, the world's second largest auto market.