Mercedes to lift China JV sales to 300,000

Shanghai, June 29 (Gasgoo.com) The partnership between Mercedes-Benz and Beijing Auto has proven to be a successful venture so far, and with the stretched version of E-Class being launched in China, Mercedes-Benz is now bubbling for its second golden age.

Recently, Beijing Benz said it plans to raise its annual sales to 300,000 vehicles by the end of 2015, with half vehicles to be manufactured locally, media reported today.

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz will invest 200 million euros in its engine project, for which the German automaker will be teaming up with its Chinese venture Beijing Benz, and which is also the first time for Mercedes-Benz to produce its engines outside Europe, said Chairman of Daimler's Board of Management Dr. Dieter Zetsche.

In addition to a long-wheel version of the C-Class sedan and the E-Class sedan, Mercedes-Benz will soon launch its all-new compact luxury SUV GLK to the Chinese market to compete with the Audi Q5 and BMW X3.

At present, the Audi Q5 and the BMWX1 have been put into production at each automaker's China joint venture, so Mercedes-Benz will certainly produce and launch the GLK model in China very soon unless it is willing to lag behind in China's lucrative SUV market.