Positive spin
Updated: 2007-07-31 09:41
The move is seen as a major step by the German carmaker to cater to Chinese customers' demand for roomier luxury vehicles.
Stark says the move has been "quite successful" as the new 5 Series sales in the first half of this year surged by 51 percent to 8,363 units.
In the period, BMW introduced six new or modified products as imports in China, including the X3, new-look Z4, 3 Series Coupe, Mini and the new X5.
Production capacity
Stark says BMW and Brilliance have not yet made a decision to build a second plant to meet mounting demand, refuting recent local reports that they will build a new factory in Shenyang or Dalian, in Northeast China.
"We are gradually increasing our capacity in Shenyang as market demand grows. In the immediate future, we can supply enough cars out of Shenyang," he says.
Production capacity at the joint venture in Shenyang has been lifted to 41,000 cars this year from 30,000 through process improvement.
"Both stakeholders are discussing what we are going to do once the capacity in Shenyang is no longer sufficient," he says.
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