BMW plans electric Mini production in China

German auto giant BMW said yesterday it plans to build an electric version of its compact Mini in China, in a possible joint venture with local partner Great Wall.

The Munich-based group is in “advanced discussions” aimed at “a new joint venture in China”, it said in a statement, adding that the two firms had signed a so-called letter of intent about the project.

If plans to build the Mini in China go ahead, it would be the first time the unmistakeable cars originally created by a British company -- have been built outside Europe.

But BMW and Great Wall have yet to agree on important details like where to build a factory and how much to invest.

China is the fourth-largest market for the Mini after Britain, the United States and Germany.

Some 35,000 were sold there in 2017, or around one in ten sales worldwide.

BMW follows a maxim that “production follows the market”, making China ripe for investment in local manufacturing.

Reaching 560,000 units in 2017, Chinese sales of Bmw-brand cars -- produced locally under a joint venture with carmaker Brilliance -outweighed shipments in other major markets the United States and Germany combined.

“A similar growth strategy could accelerate development of the Mini brand significantly,” BMW said.