BMW to build new China plant

German automaker BMW plans to build a new factory in China to meet rising demand for luxury vehicles, Bloomberg reported. The company's chief financial officer Friedrich Eichiner said the new plant will cost US$732 million and have an initial capacity of 100,000 cars per year by 2012, ultimately rising to 300,000 units per year. BMW will also double capacity at its existing plant in Shenyang. The company wants to make more 3- and 5-Series sedans in China as demand for premium cars catches up with the overall 28% growth in car sales. Sales of China-made BMWs and imported models have already jumped by 37% in the first 10 months of 2009. BMW still lags behind Volkswagen's Audi unit sales in China for vehicles costing over US$41,000 each. At the same time, Daimler AG CEO Deiter Zetsche said yesterday that he expects Mercedes sales in China to overtake BMW sales "soon."