US, European auto majors look to recoup in Chinese market

21 April 2009

While markets for luxury cars in the west are shrinking China seems to have now become the sunshine destination for many car manufacturers in the west including BMW, GM and others. In fact while it seems to be curtains for GM in the US with a possible bankruptcy looming large, the company has seen surging growth in China. Other players also seem to riding on the Chinese auto boom.

BMW is building the second its second manufacturing facility in association with its partner Brilliance Auto. The venture is all set to expand capacity by 75,000 to 80,000 units by the second half of next year, up from its capacity of 30,000 at end-2008, according to Yufei Wan, the chief of Brilliance's international trade arm at the Shanghai Auto Show.

However, in a statement BMW clarified that no decision on a second plant had been taken.

BMW, premium car maker, sold 16,580 cars in China in the first quarter, up 13.8 percent from a year earlier according to company figures. The worlds' largest premium car maker manufactures BMW 3 series and 5 series sedans in Shenyang, a city in northeastern China.

General Motors
General Motors Corp which is closing US plants in a bid to avoid bankruptcy has plans to build a new plant in China to cater to the surging demand in the region.

Nick Reilly, GM's Asia-Pacific president, said at the Shanghai auto show that operations in China are profitable. He did not give a timeframe for the new plant.