BAIC set to merge Beijing's all auto assets in '09

Shanghai, April 14 (Gasgoo.com) Chinese automaker Beijing Automotive Industry Co (BAIC, or Beijing Auto) recently said that it is prepared to merge, acquire and restructure all the auto industry assets in the city of Beijing this year, sina.com said today.

This move, if successful, means that Beijing Auto will be the first auto group in China to carry out the country's auto sector restructuring plan the Chinese government announced earlier this year. Beijing Auto was listed among the top eight carmakers for expansion by mergers and acquisitions.

Beijing Auto has decided to make itself an auto giant group this year with sales revenue to reach 100 billion yuan ($14.7 billion). To achieve this goal, one of the best ways is to merge and acquire the local, national and even global auto assets. At the beginning, Beijing Auto can restructure the local auto assets in the capital city.

In 2008, Beijing Auto had 8.2% market share in China. In the first three months this year, the automaker sold more than 250,000 vehicles, valued at 24 billion yuan. Although its sales performance has got off a good start, this year's sales revenue target of 100 billion yuan is not easy to hit.

Beijing Auto has planned for several own-brand models to be launched in each of the coming years. The carmaker will release two sedan models codenamed BC701 and BC801, two SUV models codenamed B40 and B51, and two hybrid new-energy models by 2010.