BMW said to pour another ten billion yuan in battery center expansion in China

Beijing (Gasgoo)- The German auto giant, BMW, is planning to pour in another ten million yuan to expand its high-voltage battery manufacturing center in Shengyang, Liaoning Province, according to Global Times citing an insider of BMW China.

Photo credit: MINI

The expansion of the battery center signifying the automaker’s determination to amplify its investment in China regarding battery projects. The Shenyang battery center is also BMW Group’s third comprehensive power battery center worldwide and the first located outside of Germany. Notably, BMW has not respond to the matter yet. 

According to a previous report by The Times, BMW will move its MINI electric car production line to China from its current Oxford factory. According to the Guardian, BMW Group's senior vice president  of the MINI brand Stefanie Wurst explained that the reason for the company to halt the production of the MINI electric models in Oxford, England, is the plant's low production efficiency, as the electric cars and oil-fueled cars are manufactured on the same production lines.

The senior vice president also revealed that Oxford will always be the home of MINI, and that "when the MINI electric car is produced in the UK again, it will be on the assembly platform developed by Great Wall Motor", adding that the Oxford plant would need significant investment to be able to mass produce electric cars in the future.

In fact, back in 2018, BMW Group and Great Wall Motor have set up a joint venture named Spotlight Automotive Ltd. in Zhangjiagang, to develop and produce new-generation electric MINI models with an annual production capacity of 250,000 units.