BMW Scales-up for E-Mobility Acceleration in China
10 Billion RMB Invested into New Battery Production Project in Shenyang

• New investment underlines BMW's long-term commitment and confidence in Chinese market.
• Expansion of BMW battery production capacity underpins e-mobility ramp-up.
• Forthcoming battery production facility to follow BMW iFACTORY manufacturing principles.

Shenyang/Beijing. BMW’s electromobility ramp-up has reached a new milestone in China. On November 11th, a signing ceremony for the BMW Future Generation HVB Production Project was held in Shenyang. The signed agreement will see BMW Group’s Chinese joint venture, BMW Brilliance Automotive, invest around 10 billion RMB into a new structure project to expand battery production capacity at its Shenyang production base. While accompanying German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on last week’s state visit to China, Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, reiterated that China remains one of the most strategically important markets for the BMW Group. The new project is a concrete demonstration of this position and the Group’s long-term commitment to the Chinese market.

Li Lecheng, Deputy Party Secretary of Liaoning CPC, Governor of Liaoning Provincial People’s Government, said: “The BMW Group is a long-time friend of Liaoning Province. Since BMW settled in Shenyang in 2003, we’ve had 19 years of sincere cooperation and achieved a series of fruitful results. We trust that BMW will accelerate the construction progress of this new project and strive to start production operations as early as possible. At the same time, we hope that BMW will further deepen its cooperation with Liaoning and Shenyang, continue its investment into Liaoning, and promote mutual progress and win-win development.”

“China is driving the pace of e-mobility worldwide. By scaling-up our battery production footprint in Shenyang, we are taking decisive actions to serve the growing demand of Chinese customers for our BEV models”, said Jochen Goller, President & CEO of BMW Group Region China. “The signing of the investment agreement today not only demonstrates our confidence in the long-term perspectives of the Chinese market but also underlines our strong belief that business ties will continue to build bridges between China and Germany.”

“This 10 billion RMB investment to expand our battery production in Shenyang is a crucial next step in the BMW e-mobility strategy in China”, said Dr. Franz Decker, President & CEO of BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. “Our new battery manufacturing facilities will follow the BMW iFACTORY principles of LEAN, GREEN and DIGITAL. The strong support we’ve received from the government to initiate this project reflects a joint determination to further promote high-quality industrial upgrading in Shenyang and Liaoning Province.”

The new investment agreement follows a phase of extensive upgrading at the BMW production base in Shenyang, with both the Plant Dadong Extension and 15-billion-RMB Plant Lydia opening in the first half of this year. In view of the growing demand for e-mobility, increasing in-house production of high-voltage batteries for electric vehicles is a key part of the Group’s e-mobility strategy. Together with the opening of the iFACTORY Plant Lydia, the new battery production project will further strengthen BMW’s BEV production capabilities in China. Located in the Sino-German (Shenyang) Intelligent Equipment Manufacturing Park in the city’s Tiexi district, the new structure project will dramatically expand the area for battery production at the Shenyang production base. In addition, it will be equipped with state-of-the-art technologies and is expected to set new standards for low-carbon production.

Since 2010, more than 83 billion RMB has been invested into BMW’s production base in Shenyang. As well as becoming the largest manufacturing location of the BMW Group worldwide, it has built-up strong local e-mobility competencies covering supply chain, R&D, and battery and electric vehicle production. In 2017, BMW became the first premium automotive brand to establish high-voltage battery production in China with the opening of its HVB Center Phase I in Shenyang. The facility was also the first complete BMW Group battery center outside of Germany. HVB Center Phase II began operations in 2020 and currently produces batteries for the locally produced BMW iX3 and BMW i3. In starting this new battery production project, BMW is not only investing in its own future, but also demonstrating its enduring commitment to bring the latest technologies to China, support the economic development of Shenyang city and Liaoning province, and contribute fully to the successful transformation of China's automotive industry.