BMW to make X5 SUVs in China, expanding its model lineup to fend off electric cars in the world’s largest vehicle market
- BMW will add the X5 to the lineup of vehicles it makes with its Brilliance China Automotive Holdings venture in Shenyang
- The Shenyang-made X5 will cater to the tastes and preferences of Chinese customers, including a long-wheel concept for them to be chauffeur driven
BMW will assemble the X5 mid-size sports-utility vehicle (SUV) in China, shifting more of its global production capacity to its biggest single revenue source as it doubles down on growth in the world’s largest vehicle market.
The X5 will be the “most advanced and sophisticated” premium vehicle assembled in northeastern China’s Shenyang city by the German luxury carmaker and its partner Brilliance China Automotive Holdings since they began their venture in 2003, BMW said. BMW-Brilliance already makes the X1, X2 and X3 compact SUVs, as well as the 1, 2, 3 and 5 Series sedans in the Liaoning provincial capital.
“We have submitted an application to the authorities,” BMW said in a statement to the South China Morning Post. “Once approved, the X5 will become the new flagship of our local production fleet, marking a new milestone in BMW’s commitment to China.”
China, which surpassed the United States in 2009 as the largest vehicle market on the planet, is the key battleground where global carmakers thrive or die, especially in the epic battle between electric cars and automobiles powered by internal combustion engines (ICEs). The petrol-guzzling X5 is mostly made at BMW’s Spartanburg plant in South Carolina, with an import price of 699,900 yuan (US$110,014).
BMW did not disclose the production start or the retail price of its China-made X5, but analysts expect the vehicle to start rolling off the Shenyang assembly in early 2022.