The BMW Group is set to take control of its Chinese joint venture brand, BMW Brilliance Automotive, whose portfolio includes a lithium-ion battery production plant to power the German car firm’s fully-electric BMW iX3 model.
BMW intends to increase its stake in Brilliance from 50% to 75% under a deal announced by the partners on 11 October— subject to various regulatory and shareholder approvals.
In a related move, BMW and its joint venture partner Brilliance Auto announced an investment of more than €3 billion “in new and existing plant structures in Shenyang over the coming years”.
Brilliance Automitive Group Holdings CEO Yumin Qi said the joint venture was “a unique success story and provides an outstanding example of a strong partnership built on trust”. “This joint success is also driving economic development in Liaoning Province.” He added.
Brilliance was founded in 2003. The joint venture confirmed last May that it was expanding the ‘high voltage battery centre’ in Dadong, in northeastern Liaoning Province, which was opened just seven months earlier.
The partners have consistently declined to comment on what the expanded site’s production capacity would be. However, BEST Battery Briefing has reported previously that the initial plant could produce an estimated 33,000 sets of battery packs per year.