German carmaker BMW is taking on a majority stake of 75 per cent in its joint venture with the Chinese car company Brilliance, at a cost of 3.6 billion euros. The two sides signed off on the deal Thursday in the north-eastern Chinese city of Shenyang.
An additional investment of more than 3 billion euros is also foreseen in the next three years. A new plant will double the capacity at the venture's Tiexi facility, Munich-based BMW said.
Celebrating the 15th anniversary of their cooperation, the two sides also extended the joint venture's contract by another 22 years to 2040.
"We are consistently following our growth strategy for China," BMW chairman Harald Krueger said. "With continuous investment, as well as the development and production of electric vehicles, we underline China's importance as a dynamic growth market for us."
BMW has been building cars together with Brilliance in Shenyang since 2003. Until now, BMW held a 50-per cent stake in the joint venture, while Brilliance controlled 40.5 per cent. The city of Shenyang has the remaining 9.5 per cent.
The total capacity at the joint venture's plants in China is to be increased to 650,000 cars per year by the early 2020s. Last year, some 400,000 cars rolled off the assembly line at the plants in Tiexi and neighbouring Dadong - an increase of around 30 per cent from the previous year.
The new plant is being planned on the existing factory premises in Tiexi, while the Dadong plant will be remodelled and expanded, BMW said. The carmaker currently produces six BMW models in China.
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