Munich. The BMW Group and the Chinese manufacturer
Great Wall Motor today signed an agreement to produce MINI electric
vehicles through a new 50:50 joint venture based in China. During an
event for autonomous and connected driving attended by China’s Premier
Li Keqiang and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, the BMW
Group and Great Wall Motor committed to found a new joint venture,
“Spotlight Automotive Limited”, for the development and production of
electric vehicles in China. As well as MINI electric vehicles, the
joint venture will also produce electric vehicles for Great Wall
Motor. The establishment of the new company is subject to approval
from the relevant Chinese authorities and the completion of business
registration procedures. The joint venture will be located in Jiangsu
Province, where both partners will together create a new
state-of-the-art production facility.
The production of future battery-electric MINI vehicles in China, the
world’s largest market for electromobility, is a key element of MINI’s
continued strategic development within the BMW Group’s Strategy NUMBER
ONE NEXT. Today’s move follows the “letter of intent” signed with
Great Wall Motor on 23 February 2018. It is another significant step
towards the electrified future of the MINI brand, coming in addition
to start-of-production next year of the first battery electric MINI at
the brand’s main plant in Oxford.
“Today’s signing represents a new level of cooperation between China
and Germany,” said Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management
of BMW AG, during the signing ceremony. “This strategic partnership is
a clear win-win for the BMW Group and Great Wall Motor, enabling us to
contribute to China’s ambitious plans to ramp-up new energy vehicles
and reduce emissions in the mobility sector,” elaborated Krüger.
The joint venture agreement was signed by Wei Jianjun, Founder and
Chairman of Great Wall Motor, and Klaus Fröhlich, Member of Board of
Management BMW AG for Development. “The strengths and expertise of
both companies complement each other well,” said Fröhlich. “Our
experience as a pioneer and leader in the field of electrification,
coupled with Great Wall Motor’s proven track-record in efficient
industrialisation, enables us together to drive the growth of the
largest e-mobility market in the world,” Fröhlich continued. “With our
joint approach, we can quickly scale up production and increase
efficiency in the highly competitive segment of compact electric vehicles.”
“Today’s signing opens a new chapter in Sino-German cooperation,”
stated Wei Jianjun. “Great Wall Motor and the BMW Group share a
commitment to promote new energy vehicles. With the combined strength
of both partners, our new joint venture will accelerate the uptake of
electric vehicles,” Wei continued.
The BMW Group is firmly committed to continuing the successful
cooperation with the established sales structure and channels in China
and has no plans to set up an additional sales organisation in China
for future MINI electric vehicles from this joint venture. The joint
venture’s activities will focus on the development, procurement and
production of electric vehicles for the Chinese market.
As announced yesterday, the BMW Group will also further expand its
highly successful BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) joint venture in
China with its partner, Brilliance. In recent years, BBA has become a
cornerstone of the BMW brand’s success in its largest market. Around
560,000 BMW brand vehicles were delivered to customers in China in
2017 – more than in the next two largest markets, the US and Germany,
combined. Two-thirds of all BMW vehicles sold in China last year were
produced by BBA. In 2017, China was MINI’s fourth-largest market, with
around 35,000 units delivered. This underlines the brand’s additional
global potential, which will now be significantly supported through
the joint venture with Great Wall Motor.
The successful strategy behind the continuing expansion of the BMW
Group’s global production network obeys a clear rule: production
follows the market. This means that increasing production in our
largest markets does not lead to a corresponding decrease in
production in other plants, but rather the reverse. For example,
although BMW production in China and the USA increased significantly
between 2007 and 2017, production in Germany during that time also
grew by almost a quarter, to around 1.15 million vehicles a year. A
similar expansion strategy could therefore accelerate development of
the MINI brand significantly, without questioning the BMW Group’s
commitment in the UK, where the company has made significant investments.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Corporate Communications
Christina Hepe, Business and Finance Communications
Telephone:
+49 89 382-38770, Fax: +49 89 382-24418
christina.hepe@bmwgroup.com
Glenn Schmidt, Head of Business and Finance Communications
Telephone: +49 89 382-24544, Fax: +49 89 382-24418
glenn.schmidt@bmwgroup.com
Media website: www.press.bmwgroup.com
Email: presse@bmw.de
The BMW Group
With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW
Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and
motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services.
The BMW Group production network comprises 30 production and assembly
facilities in 14 countries; the company has a global sales network in
more than 140 countries.
In 2017, the BMW Group sold over 2,463,500 passenger vehicles and
more than 164,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the
financial year 2017 was € 10.655 billion on revenues amounting to
€ 98.678 billion. As of 31 December 2017, the BMW Group had a
workforce of 129,932 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term
thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established
ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain,
comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to
conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.
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