Localization milestone

The latest milestone in BMW's localization drive, the new brand's release coincides with the 10th anniversary of its partnership with Brilliance.

Over the past decade, annual sales of the joint venture have grown from 4,000 units to nearly 150,000 thanks to the country's booming economy as well as BMW's consistent, comprehensive localization strategy here.

The 5 Series sedan it produced at the joint venture plant is a long-wheelbase vehicle that has been specially developed for China.

And the locally produced 3 Series is offered in a standard version and a long-wheelbase version to meet the diverse demand of local customers. BMW is the first and only carmaker in the industry to offer both.

BMW also became the first premium carmaker to locally produce a compact SUV when it started to manufacture the X1 in China last year.

BMW Brilliance now has two vehicle plants in Shenyang - one in the Dadong district and one in Tiexi district.

Their combined production capacity will reach 300,000 units by the end of this year and has a potential to increase to 400,000 units a year depending on market development in the future.

The new Tiexi plant, which will become fully operational this year, is one of BMW's most eco-friendly, advanced and efficient plants in the world.

With a firm and long-term commitment to China, BMW last year started building its latest N20 four-cylinder turbo-charged engine at the joint venture, making the country the only production site of BMW engines outside Europe.

A new engine plant will begin construction this year, and production there is scheduled to start in 2015.

It will also be one of the company's most advanced and eco-friendly plants in the world. All the key components will be produced locally.

By the end of this year, the research and development team at BMW Brilliance will have a workforce made up of 500 elite personnel, most of which will be locals.

The joint venture plans to establish an R&D center in the near future to further improve the competitiveness of the partnership.