BMW and Great Wall sign agreement to produce Mini EV in China

The BMW Group and Great Wall Motor have signed a joint venture agreement to produce electric vehicles for Mini in China, under the company name Spotlight Automotive Limited.

Along with the upcoming electric Mini models, the joint venture will also produce EVs for Great Wall, with the facility to be located in the Chinese province of Jiangsu, north of Shanghai.

According to BMW's press release, the collaboration will focus "on the development, procurement and production of electric vehicles for the Chinese market".

Signatories to the agreement (pictured) were Wei Jianjun, founder and chairman of Great Wall Motor, and Klaus Fröhlich, member of the board of management for BMW AG Development.

"Today’s signing represents a new level of cooperation between China and Germany," said Harald Krüger, chairman of the board of management for BMW AG.

"This strategic partnership is a clear win-win for the BMW Group and Great Wall Motor, enabling us to contribute to China’s ambitious plans to ramp-up new energy vehicles and reduce emissions in the mobility sector."

Meanwhile, Wei said: "Today’s signing opens a new chapter in Sino-German cooperation".

"Great Wall Motor and the BMW Group share a commitment to promote new energy vehicles. With the combined strength of both partners, our new joint venture will accelerate the uptake of electric vehicles."

The Mini Electric is due to be launched sometime in 2019, followed by the all-electric iX3 scheduled to commence production in China from 2020.

BMW's new partnership with Great Wall follows its announcement regarding the expansion of its production operations with Brilliance Automotive – the Bavarian manufacturer's main partner in the Chinese market.

In 2017 there were 560,000 BMW-branded vehicles delivered in China that were produced by BMW Brilliance – more than both the US and Germany combined (its next two largest markets).

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