Brilliance China Automotive expects to sell 150,000 BMW cars this year - a year-on-year jump of 40 per cent after a boost in its production capacity - under its joint venture with the German carmaker.
The target comes after the joint venture nearly doubled its share of Brilliance's earnings last year, as sales rose 53.5 per cent to 108,000 cars. It also opened a second plant in Tiexi.
While dealers of luxury brands including BMW and Audi have offered perks such as iPhones and record discounts of up to 25 per cent on high-end car models, Brilliance chairman Wu Xiaoan said this hardly pointed to a slowdown in the luxury car market.
'It's normal to have seasonal fluctuations in demand,' Wu said. 'But it is clear that the prospect of the mainland's luxury car market is still bright. As you can see, our production cannot catch up with demand. We expect a 15 to 20 per cent growth in the sector this year and our group will see an even higher growth.'
The big surge in BMW's contributions last year offset a drop from the group's minibus business.
Revenue fell 28 per cent to 6.44 billion yuan (HK$7.93 billion) because of a decline in sales, unit prices and changes in the business models.
Wu said the firm would launch a new platform of multi-purpose vehicles (MPV), including high-end models, by next year to boost its MPV's sales and market share.