SHENYANG, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- BMW Brilliance Automobile, a joint venture between BMW and Chinese car maker Huachen Auto Group, has resumed operation in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang amid the novel coronavirus epidemic.
Nearly 20,000 of the company's employees have returned to work and its two vehicle factories are expected to fully resume production on Tuesday after substantial preparations for epidemic prevention and control, according to BMW Brilliance Automobile.
BMW has invested over 52 billion yuan (nearly 7.5 billion U.S. dollars) in Shenyang and completed the building of two vehicle factories, one powertrain plant and one R&D hub.
China has become the world's largest sales market for BMW, with vehicle sales exceeding 720,000 in 2019.
Workers eat in the canteen at Tiexi Plant of BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Feb. 17, 2020. BMW resumes production at its world's largest manufacturing base in Shenyang, with nearly 20,000 employees, including those of its supplier partners, returning to work as planned.