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BMW has announced a further investment of 10 billion yuan to expand its Shenyang power battery production base to speed up its electrified development, according to CCTV News. This is another major investment after the Lida plant in June and proves once again BMW's strong confidence in the Chinese market.

The fifth China International Import Expo opened in Shanghai on November 4, and this year is the fifth year in a row that BMW participated in the exhibition, bringing a number of all-electric models, including the BMW iX, BMW i4 and BMW i7. On the same day, German Chancellor Schultz led a business delegation, including BMW Group Chairman Ziptze, to visit China.

Chipze, chairman of BMW Group, said that the Expo shows China's posture of promoting a high level of opening up to the outside world and plays an important role in promoting economic globalization and trade liberalization. This year coincides with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Germany, and the BMW Group is proud to contribute to the successful cooperation between the two countries. Innovation and trade are the ties of economic development. China and Germany have great potential in strengthening bilateral relations and promoting practical cooperation. I believe this partnership will be further consolidated, developed and deepened, and we look forward to more cooperation opportunities in the future.

In addition, Chipze also said that China has established one of the most comprehensive industrial bases and supply chains in the world, and has a large number of excellent industrial workers and talents. For BMW, China is driving development in a number of key areas, including digitization, electrification and sustainability, which are at the heart of BMW Group's strategy. In the future, China will remain one of the most strategic markets for BMW.

At present, BMW Group is highly dependent on the Chinese market. According to the data, BMW sold 2213795 vehicles worldwide in 2021, up 9.1% from a year earlier, the best sales year in the group's history, with 846237 cars delivered in the Chinese market. According to the latest data, BMW Group delivered 1747889 new vehicles worldwide in the first three quarters of 2022, down 0.9% from the same period last year, of which 592873 were sold in China, which accounts for 33.9% of the total global sales, making it the largest single market of BMW Group in the world.

In the internationalization strategy of BMW Group, the Chinese market occupies a very important position. In April 1994, BMW Group opened a Beijing representative office, marking BMW's official entry into the Chinese mainland market. In March 2003, BMW Group and brilliance Group signed a joint venture agreement to establish brilliance BMW Co., Ltd., each holding 50%. At present, BMW Shenyang production base has developed into the largest production base of BMW Group in the world, with two vehicle factories, an engine factory, a high voltage battery production line and a research and development center. According to incomplete statistics, since 2010, BMW has invested more than 93 billion yuan in Shenyang and built a production system integrating R & D, procurement, powertrain and vehicle production.

BMW has said that China occupies an important strategic position in the BMW Group, not only as the largest single market, but also as a production and innovation base. On June 23, BMW Group officially opened its third vehicle factory in Shenyang, brilliance BMIDA plant, with a total investment of 15 billion yuan, which is BMW's largest investment project in the Chinese market. Shenyang has also become the largest production base of BMW in the world, mainly producing a variety of new energy models, including BMW i3.

According to the official website, BMW's domestic pure electric models include BMW iX3, BMW i3, BMW i4 and BMW iX, of which BMW iX3 (39.99-439900 yuan) and BMW i3 (349900 yuan) are oil-to-electric models, based on BMW X3 and BMW 3 series, while BMW i4 and BMW iX are imported models. The former was officially launched on February 22, 2022 and is the first pure electric model created by BMW's M department. Including i4 eDrive40 and i4 M50 versions, the price is 449900 yuan and 539900 yuan respectively. BMW iX will be officially launched at the 2021 Guangzhou Auto Show, with a current price of 74.69-996900 yuan. As for the BMW i7, the new all-electric version of the BMW 7-Series will use BMW's latest family-style design and is expected to go on sale in December. It is understood that BMW's pure electric products in China will increase to 13 in 2023.

However, BMW's performance in the new energy vehicle market lacks bright spots. Data show that BMW Group's global electric vehicle sales in the first three quarters of 2022 were 283289, up 22.3% from the same period last year, of which pure electric vehicle sales were 128196, up 114.8% from the same period last year. As can be seen from the data, the pillar of BMW is still traditional fuel vehicles. Although it has achieved substantial growth, compared with Tesla, BYD and other car companies, the data of BMW electric vehicles are obviously not good-looking. At present, BMW is tangled in the electric vehicle business and will soon fall behind under the impact of the domestic market, or even lose the Chinese market.

Prior to this, BMW proposed to "make China its home" and upgrade the "2025 China Strategy". The core is to take "China first" as the principle, focusing on the three directions of electrification, digitization and sustainability, and to continue BMW's glory. Specifically, by 2025, BMW will launch a "new generation" model and achieve 1/4 of China's sales of pure electric vehicles. Prior to this, BMW will launch 25 new energy models.

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