BMW, Great Wall to make electric cars
BMW AND the biggest Chinese SUV brand, Great Wall Motor, yesterday announced a partnership to produce electric MINI vehicles in China as global automakers ramp up development under pressure from Beijing.
The companies said they signed an agreement on Monday during an event in Berlin attended by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
BMW and Great Wall said their venture, Spotlight Automotive, also will make electrics for the Chinese partner’s brand.
Automakers are pouring billions of dollars into creating electric models for China, the biggest market for the technology.
Beijing is using access to its market as leverage to induce global automakers to help Chinese brands develop battery and other technology.
Auto brands in China are required to make electric vehicles at least 10 percent of their sales starting next year or buy credits from competitors that exceed their quotas. Later, they face pressure to raise those sales in order to satisfy fuel efficiency requirements that increase annually.
Sales of pure-electric passenger vehicles in China rose 82 percent last year to 468 000, according to an industry group, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. This was more than double the US level of just under 200 000.
Other automakers, including General Motors, Volkswagen and Nissan Motor, have announced similar plans with Chinese partners to produce dozens of electric models.
Great Wall, headquartered in Baoding, southwest of Beijing, sells more than one million SUVs a year.
MINI’s first battery-electric model is due to be produced in Oxford in 2019.