BMW is considering expanding the production capacity of its Chinese joint venture with Brilliance China Automotive Holdings to meet rising demand.
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“The market is developing positively for us and one has to basically be prepared so one doesn’t get slowed down,” BMW chairman Helmut Panke told Reuters.
But Panke also said the company had not started talks with its Chinese partner and no date or other specific details were in discussion, according to the news agency.
The joint venture with China’s largest minibus maker produces 3 and 5 series models with a capacity of 30,000 cars in Shenyang in China’s northern city of Liaoning.
“We probably will reach the 30,000 (units) of local production in the course of if not this year then next year,” Panke reportedly said in Hong Kong.
Total China sales of BMW brand cars in 2005, including imports, hit 23,595, out of a total of 95,116 in all of Asia and 1.13m globally, Reuters added.
Brilliance said earlier this year that the joint venture sold 17,500 BMWs last year, it noted.
