BMW to become China govt's next 'official car'

Shanghai, June 12 (Gasgoo.com) German luxury car maker BMW has made the list of Chinese government's car purchase for high-ranking officials and public services, a lucrative market segment formerly dominated by rivals Audi and Mercedes-Benz, state media said today.

An executive of BMW said its Chinese venture BMW Brilliance Automotive will be the supplier of BMW cars for the Chinese government officials and agencies, and the purchase will be conducted across the country. There are several reasons for the BMW cars to be bought by the Chinese government:

BMW is a high-quality, renowned brand for special public service. For example, BMW has supplied global police authorities for more than 50 years. The high performance, energy-efficiency, and low emission of BMW vehicles are also what the Chinese government has been urging its automakers to achieve.  

The price of BWM cars is another consideration. China's high-ranking officials enjoy the privilege of having a government-provided 3.0-liter sedan priced between 450,000 yuan ($65,900) and 350,000 yuan, and other vehicles used by average officials and agencies are usually the 250,000 yuan 2.0-liter cars.

China spends about 80 billion yuan a year buying cars for its officials at all levels, which means a lucrative auto market segment for automakers. The sector was dominated by Audi with its A6 sedans until Mercedes-Benz's China-made sedans made their way to the government shopping list in early 2007.

BMW Brilliance, BMW's joint venture with Brilliance China Auto in northeast China, has launched a new series of sedans specifically aimed at the government purchase segment over the past two years.