BMW Brilliance

BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd.
Company type	Joint venture
Industry	Automotive
Founded	27 March 2003
Headquarters	Shenyang, Liaoning , China
Area served	China
Key people	Franz Decker (Chief Executive Officer and President); Walter Mertl (Chairman)
Products	Automobiles
Owners	BMW (75%); Brilliance Auto (25%);
Number of employees	~25.000
Divisions	Zinoro
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	华晨宝马汽车有限公司
Traditional Chinese	華晨寶馬汽車有限公司
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Huáchén Bǎomǎ Qìchē Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī
Website	www.bmw-brilliance.cn

BMW Brilliance dealer in Nanjing, China

BMW Brilliance (officially BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd.) is an automobile manufacturing company headquartered in Shenyang, China, and a joint venture between BMW (as majority holder) and Brilliance Auto. Its principal activity is the production, distribution, and sale of BMW passenger cars in mainland China.

The BMW Brilliance Zinoro all-electric crossover, based on the BMW X1 (E84), is the first product of BMW Brilliance’s brand and the first new energy vehicle (NEV) from a Chinese premium manufacturer. Since early 2014, the Zinoro 1E is available for leasing only in Beijing and Shanghai.

History

On August 23, 2020, the steel structure of BMW’s largest paint shop in the world was completed, and the new BMW factory in Tiexi was completed.

On 27 March 2003 BMW and Brilliance Auto agreed to form a joint venture to produce BMW cars for the Chinese market, with BMW holding a 50 per cent stake, Brilliance Auto 40.5 per cent and the Shenyang municipal government 9.5 per cent. BMW and Brilliance agreed to invest an initial €450 million (US$483 million) in the venture. The first Chinese-made BMW, a BMW 325, was sold in October 2003.

In April 2009 BMW Brilliance announced that it would construct a second automobile assembly plant in China. Construction of the plant began in Shenyang in June 2010, with a planned cost of US$73.53 million and a production capacity of 100,000 units. Production at the plant began in May 2012.

In January 2011 BMW Brilliance announced that it would begin Chinese production of a BMW 5 series electric hybrid car later that year.

In 2013, BMW Brilliance opened a research and development centre. It was expanded in 2020, making it BMW’s largest R&D centre outside of Germany.

In October 2018, BMW announced that it would increase its stake from 50% to 75%, making BMW the first foreign carmaker to take majority control of its joint venture in China.

In February 2022, BMW acquired a majority 75% stake in BMW Brilliance with Brilliance indirectly owning the remaining 25% of the company.