BMWX1 compact SUV likely to be produced in China

Shanghai October 21 (Gasgoo.com) The BMWX1 compact SUV is very likely to be produced in the new plant of Brilliance BMW, the German automaker's joint venture with Brilliance China Automotive, Mr. Dai Lei (sound), Senior Vice President of Marketing for the joint venture, said at the launch ceremony of the new BMW 5 Series Li on October 18, wccdaily.com reported Thursday.

In the first three quarters of this year, BMW Group delivered 121,826 BMW and Mini vehicles to customers in mainland China, hitting fresh record high after it broke the 100,000 sales mark in the first eight months, Mr. Dai Lei said. Introduction of new models to the Chinese market has also been put on the agenda, he added, claiming that the Group has already completed its full-year sales target for 2010.

Brilliance BMW will gradually increase the annual capacity of its new plant to 300,000 units, it will thus have to import new models, like the BMWX1, to China. The imported BMWX1 has been well received and basically has no rival in the Chinese market, so we will probably put it into local production, Mr Dai Lei revealed, adding that the hybrid version of the BMW 3, 5, and 7 Series will likely be introduced to China for sale as well.

We hope to see sales of the new BMW 5 Series to grow at least 50% on the basis of this year's performance in China in 2011, Mr. Dai Lei said.