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March 19, 2003
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This Week:

• 2004 Cadillac XLR - Set To Become An Icon For Cadillac's New Era

• Land Rover Shows Broadest Line Ever At Atlanta Auto Show

• DaimlerChrysler acquires a 43 percent holding in Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC)

• Nissan announces management changes to support the successful implementation of NISSAN 180

• Renault and Idro envisage manufacturing a common platform and vehicle together in Iran

• Planned BMW Group production in China approved by State Council

• Volkswagen presents second best results in its history

• Mercedes-Benz C-Class Production Passes the Million Mark Less Than Three Years after Manufacturing Launch

• BMW Group improves profit before tax to euro 3,297 million

• New President of Honda Motor Europe North

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Planned BMW Group production in China approved by State Council
 

Munich. The feasibility study prepared jointly by BMW Group and Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Limited for a production and distribution joint venture in China was approved in writing by the State Council of the People's Republic of China. This successfully concludes the most important step in the approval procedure for the BMW Group's planned local production. In June 2002, the State Council had already granted its approval of the project proposal. The last stage in the procedure will be the approval of the joint venture contract and the granting of the business license by the authorities. The start of production is planned for the second half of 2003. In the medium term, an annual production of around 30,000 BMW 3 Series and 5 Series vehicles in total is envisaged. The joint venture factory will be located in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning Province in the North-East of the People's Republic of China and one of the country's most important industrial centres.

BMW Group will have a 50 percent share of the joint venture. A total of 450 million euros is to be invested by 2005. In the medium term, the joint venture will employ around 3,000 staff. The necessary supplier industry on the spot is continuously being expanded.

"The joint venture represents a fundamental step forward in one of the most important automobile markets of the future", says Dr. Helmut Panke, Chairman of the Board of BMW AG. "With the establishment of a production facility in China we are forcefully continuing the strategy of internationalisation of the BMW Group."

Over the next five years, the company is planning to increase its annual sales in Asian markets from around 80,000 to 150,000 units. The BMW Group has been present in China with a representative office in Beijing since 1994. In the 2002 financial year, the company sold nearly 6,700 cars in China.

The strong position of the BMW brand in the Chinese market is underlined by the results of the most recent reader survey of China Auto Pictorial - a well recognised Chinese publication in partnership with "auto, motor und sport" - for the "Best Cars 2003 Awards": With the BMW 7 and 3 Series and the BMW Z8 and X5, the BMW brand ranks on the top in four out of the total of ten categories.

(March 14, 2003)