BMW will invest $1.4 billion to expand its electric battery production facility in China, as the German automaker continues to raise the stakes in China, the world’s largest market for new energy vehicles.
The production facility to be expanded is located in Shenyang, Liaoning province, in northeastern China, and BMW signed a contract with the local government on November 11.
The new electric battery project is being invested by BMW Brilliance, a joint venture of BMW in China, with a total investment of about 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion).
This project is another major investment by BMW Brilliance after a total investment of RMB 15 billion in the Lydia factory.
The project is located in the Sino-Germany (Shenyang) High-End Equipment Manufacturing Industrial Park in the Shenyang Economic and Technological Development Zone and also follows the BMW iFACTORY production strategy.
This will significantly increase BMW’s electric battery production capacity in China, lay the foundation for a new phase of BMW’s electrification development and further advance the BMW Group’s latest technology in China, according to a press release.
During his visit to China with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on November 4, BMW Group chairman Oliver Zipse said that China will remain one of the most strategic markets for BMW.
The automaker said that the launch of the new battery project underscores BMW’s long-term commitment to the Chinese market.
In January 2017, BMW Brilliance saw the opening of its electric battery center, making BMW the first luxury carmaker to set up an electric battery center in China.
In September 2020, the battery center opened its second phase, making it BMW’s first global production site for fifth-generation electric batteries, more than doubling the capacity of the first phase.
In August 2021, the battery factory saw the 100,000-power battery roll off the production line, which will be equipped with the all-electric BMW iX3.
This year, BMW continued to expand its production footprint in Shenyang, with the completion of a product improvement project at the BMW Brilliance factory in Dadong in April and the official opening of the Lydia factory in Tiexi district, Shenyang in June.
