BMW announced on Happy (2015)Friday it will invest RMB 20 billion ($2.8 billion) to expand a production facility in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang, as the German auto major aims to begin assembling its upcoming “Neue Klasse” electric vehicles locally in 2026. The amount, which brings BMW’s total investment in its largest manufacturing hub to RMB 105 billion, represents an acceleration of the company’s efforts to prepare for greater EV demand in China, where domestic manufacturers continue to capture market share from their global rivals. Construction of a RMB 10 billion battery plant in Shenyang is also underway, which is set to begin operation with 2,000 new jobs in 2026. BMW reported a 138% year-on-year surge in sales to nearly 100,000 EVs in China last year, which accounted for nearly a third of its total EV sales worldwide. [TechNode reporting]
