BMW isn’t an enormous conglomerate of car brands like GM, Toyota, Volkswagen and the rest. They only own Rolls Royce, Mini, their two wheeled division and the recently founded i sub-brand.

It’s the sort of operation that works well with the company organisation and, more importantly, with the product focus the Bavarians are so good at.

Still, the newest announcement from BMW and their Chinese partners, Brilliance, speaks of a bit of a departure with this idea.

The two will join forces to create a brand new… brand. The new car maker under the wing of BMW doesn’t have a name yet, but it does have a good product idea and a new marketing direction.

BMW has had quite the success on the Chinese market but what they’ve got to say about it is something you don’t hear everywhere else.

Yes, the Chinese market is a very strong one, the one that’s going to grow the most and all that but it lacks something.

None of the Chinese produced cars are attractive to the enormous markets all over the rest of the world. This is where the new partnership between BMW and Brilliance comes in.

The new EVs these two partners are going to create are going to aim for the export market as much as they are going to do so for the Chinese one.

To begin with, the lucky Chinese will get themselves a chance at a brand new BMW 5 Series plugin hybrid. The unveiling of this model took place at Auto Shanghai 2011, all the way back in April.

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Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post BMW & Brilliance to create new EV brand in China appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

China is a very big market and there is no doubt about that but some parts of the Chinese market can be profitable with what vehicles would otherwise be niche products.

This is definitely the case for that region of China where stretched long-wheelbase vehicles are popular, so aiming for the popularity crown obtained by the Audi A4L, the Bavarians over at BMW have got a new version of the 3 Series under works.

The “new” car will be built at a new factory in the economic region of Shengyang which is destined to open its gates somewhere in 2012. That new production facility will see to the birth of this long wheelbase version of the BMW 3 Series but to other, more traditional, BMW products such as the BMW X1. The factory will have a capacity to produce somewhere in the region of 100,000 units a year.

The lengthened version of the BMW 3 Series and this plant will not be built by BMW themselves but by their local partners, Brilliance. With the help of Brilliance the Germans hope that their alliance will account for 300.000 units sold yearly in China which is a raise of 60 percent when compared to their present situation.

About Post Author

Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post BMW working on a long wheelbase version of the 3 Series for China appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.