Most BMWs Made In China Are Sold Locally

Even though sales are falling in 2024, China is still BMW’s largest individual market. Through September, deliveries were down by 13.1% to 523,638 cars. That’s still way more than at home in Germany (195,381) as well as in the United States (271,399). One interesting fact you might not be aware of is that most vehicles built there don’t leave the country.

During the Q3 2024 earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Walter Mertl revealed that BMW Group sells about 85% of its China-made cars locally. MINI now produces the electric Cooper (J01) and Aceman (J05) in China, so the percentage will grow. Exports of the CLAR-based iX3 will end in 2025 once global markets begin to receive the second-generation iX3 built in Debrecen, Hungary on the Neue Klasse platform.

China has several models not offered elsewhere, with a few exceptions. We’re talking about multiple long-wheelbase models offering greater legroom. BMW stretched not only the 3 Series and 5 Series sedans but also the X1, X3, and X5 SUVs. China is the only country where BMW sells this i3 as a fully electric 3 Series elongated sedan. Come next year, a long-wheelbase 2 Series Gran Coupe (F78) will hit the assembly line. It replaces the lesser-known 1 Series Sedan (F52) that was also exported to Mexico before production ended last year.

To date, BMW has assembled more than six million vehicles in China. In 2023, the Dadong factory was the most prolific in the entire production network, with 420,586 cars assembled. The Tiexi site was third, with 307,972 units. From 2026, the BMW Brilliance Automotive joint venture will commence production of locally designed Neue Klasse vehicles in Shenyang. A battery plant for the company’s sixth-generation battery tech with round cells is also planned.

A couple of years ago, BMW extended its tie-up with Chinese partner Brilliance until 2040 and increased its stake in the joint venture from 50% to 75%.

Source: BMW Group

First published by https://www.bmwblog.com