Automotive News - 2008 Guide to China's Auto Market - (Page 6)

6 GLOBAL AUTOMAKERS/JOINT VENTURES BMW AG Beijing Representative Office 28/F, Tower B, Gateway Plaza Chaoyang District, Beijing 100027, P.R. China (86) 10-8455-8000, www.bmw.com.cn Top executive: Christoph Stark, president & CEO JV: BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. No. 14, Shanzuizi Road, Dadong District, Shenyang City Liaoning Province 110044, P.R. China (86) 24-8455-6000, www.bmw-brilliance.cn Top executive: Alfred Rupp, president Luxury cars in China are hot, and BMW AG wants to take full advantage of the trend. In the first half of 2008, BMW plans to raise its capacity in China to 44,000 units annually. Sales of luxury vehicles rose 35 percent in China in 2007. BMW, including Mini, sold 51,588 cars in the Chinese mainland last year, up 42 percent from 2006. Those figures include imports, says the company. But to catch the luxury leader — Audi — BMW has a long way to go. The top-selling luxury car — the Audi A6, with sales of 72,638 — outsold BMW and Mini combined last year. Meanwhile, rival Mercedes-Benz will start producing C-class sedans in China this spring, providing competition for BMW’s locally made 3 series. Another big luxury challenger is Toyota. Last year the Crown posted sales of 53,111, according to Automotive Resources Asia. 2007 2006 MINI Sales of the locally produced 5 series and 3 series by its joint venture, BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd., rose 35.9 percent to 32,249 last year. The growth was driven by the new 5-series long-wheelbase sedan designed for China. The sedan accounted for sales of 17,647 units, up 61 percent from 2006. The locally made 3 series posted the weakest growth among luxury models — up only 3.1 percent in 2007. Models produced: BMW 320i, BMW 325i, BMW 523i, BMW 525Li, BMW 530Li Imports grew impressively. China remained the second-largest market for the imported 7 series last year by selling 10,688 units, up 42 percent from 2006. The Mini more than doubled sales in the Chinese mainland. BMW will introduce the 1 series to China, Alfred Rupp, president of BMW’s joint venture in China, said in a recent interview. He also mentioned BMW would continue to look into the rapidly growing SUV market. BMW says its long-term strategy is to produce more cars locally in China. Last year, the automaker’s local purchasing volume rose 80 percent to 3.6 billion yuan ($501 million). Also, BMW estimates the number of its joint venture’s suppliers will reach 150 this summer. Currently, engines and a few electronic components are still imported. BMW added 20 outlets for sales and service in 2006, and the number reached 90 by the end of 2007. — Lan Lan Ownership: BMW AG Brillance China Automotive Holdings 50% 50% Capacity Production Unit sales 41,000 34,720 32,249 30,000 25,808 23,735 Information anytime, anywhere You don’t need to be in your ofﬁce to conduct business. Neither does your technology. Covisint’s new OnDemand services model combines the customizable technology you need in a ready-to-go, highly secure platform you can afford—with far more ﬂexibility than on-premise software provides. Best of all, Covisint connects people, process and technology faster than ever before so you can focus on your business. Advanced portal functionality Unique federated identity and access management Global B2B messaging (EDI) Web-enabled software services Covisint: Trusted Collaboration OnDemand www.covisint.com http://www.bmw.com.cn http://www.bmw-brilliance.cn http://www.bmw.com.cn http://www.covisint.com http://www.covisint.com

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