BMW, Great Wall Motor to set up China plant for all-electric Mini cars

The BMW Group is cooperating with China’s Great Wall Motor to construct a plant that will produce future fully-electric models of the famous Mini car brand in the country.

The plant’s construction phase is slated to occur between 2020 and 2022, and it will be located in the city of Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu Province, the BMW Group announced on Friday.

The two companies have established a joint venture called Spotlight Automotive Limited and the combined investment in the plant will amount to approximately €650 million ($715 million). Once up and running, the plant line will have the capacity to produce as many as 160,000 vehicles a year.

“This joint venture will enable us to produce a larger number of Mini-brand-fully electric vehicles at attractive conditions for the world market,” Nicolas Peter, a member of BMW AG’s board of management, responsible for finance, said in a statement.

Alongside the manufacture of vehicles, the joint-venture will also focus on the “joint development of battery electric vehicles”, BMW added.

“This is also an important strategic step for the Mini brand,” Peter said.

“The joint venture with Great Wall underlines the enormous importance of the Chinese market for us.”

The Mini Electric is already being made in Oxford, England. It is set to hit showrooms in March 2020 with prices officially starting at £27,900 ($36,000).

Worldwide electric car sales stood at 1.98 million in 2018, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), with global stock reaching 5.12 million.

China’s electric car market is the biggest on the planet – a little over one million electric cars were sold there last year — the IEA said, with Europe and the U.S. following behind.

The BMW Group is the latest major automotive company to focus on e-mobility in China.

Last week, Volkswagen Group China said that, alongside Chinese partners, it would invest more than €4 billion next year. Around 40 around of this investment will focus on e-mobility.

In July, Renault and the Jiangling Motors Corporation Group officially established a joint venture for electric vehicles in China. In an announcement at the time, Renault said the venture would seek to “further promote the development” of China’s electric vehicle industry.

Source: CNBC