BMW to invest $620m in Northeast China

BMW Group plans to invest 4.4 billion yuan (about $620 million) this year in the construction of its new factory in Shenyang, capital city of Northeast China's Liaoning province, local government said Thursday.

The investment will be used to complete the main building of the new factory of BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA), a joint venture between BMW Group and Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd, according to the provincial development and reform commission.

With a total investment of 28.3 billion yuan, the new factory is expected to be completed in 2022, making Shenyang BMW's global manufacturing center.

BBA rolled its 3 millionth car, a plug-in hybrid, off the production line in Shenyang on Feb 27, after it resumed production in the city's Tiexi and Dadong plants on Feb 17.

China has become the world's largest sales market for BMW, which sold more than 720,000 cars in 2019.

Since the launch of BBA in 2003, BMW has invested over 52 billion yuan in Shenyang and completed the building of two vehicle factories, one powertrain plant and one research and development hub.