BMW to Begin Production in China

Munich-based automaker BMW plans to start production in China, a leading German economic magazine said Thursday in Frankfurt.

BMW aims to form a joint venture with China's Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd., pending Chinese government approval and the completion of a feasibility study, Wirtschaftwoche said.

Negotiations with Brilliance ``are already at an advanced stage,'' BMW's sales and marketing chief Michael Ganal was reported as saying in an extract of an article to appear Friday.

A decision from the authorities in Beijing is expected ``in a matter of days,'' BMW's Sales Vice President Lueder Paysan said.

According to the magazine, China's impending entry into the World Trade Organization puts BMW in a strong negotiating position with the government over the typically strict rules on foreign car companies.

BMW will reportedly offer its traditional product range to the estimated 1.3 million potential buyers in China.






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