BMW China output to hit 300,000 vehicles

BMW AG, the world's largest premium car maker, plans to nearly double its output in China in 2010 and expects its China output to reach 300,000 vehicles per year in the long run, Germany's leading automobile magazine Auto Motor und Sport reported Wednesday.

The magazine cited BMW board member Frank-Peter Arndt as saying that the company's plant in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, will increase its output from 41,000 units to 75,000 units.

The Shenyang plant was launched by BMW's China venture with Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd.

BMW also plans to set up a second plant in China that will have an annual production capacity of 50,000 vehicles at the beginning of 2012.

In January, BMW's vehicle sales in China hit 11,919, whereas it sold 5,360 units in the same month in 2008.

The auto maker sold a record 90,536 BMW-brand and Mini-brand cars in mainland China last year, 38% more than the 65,822 it sold in 2008.

For 2010, BMW expects double-digit growth in China, said Ian Robertson, head of sales and marketing.