BMW 2003 Annual Report Download - page 147

15
Shenyang, northern China, in December 2003: a
metropolis on the move. Brick constructions from
the 1950s, concrete slab high-rises from the 1970s
and between them modern skyscrapers towering
into the sky; wide thoroughfares, department stores
and billboards mark the inner city: Shenyang displays
at first sight all the striking contrasts between the
old and the new, which are found throughout the
People’s Republic of China. The capital of Liaoning
Province, with almost seven million inhabitants, is
said to have more than 5,800 industrial companies.
The city is the premier location for Chinese heavy
industry and is now in search of new paths for eco-
nomic development. New industries are being es-
tablished in order to accelerate the transformation of
older factories into state-of-the-art industrial plants.
The district of Dadong in the east of the city is
one of the industrial centres to which the government
of Liaoning Province and Shenyang’s city govern-
ment aim to attract internationally competitive pro-
duction ventures. This is where the new plant of
BMW Brilliance Automotive, the joint venture of the
BMW Group and its Chinese partner Brilliance China
Automotive Holdings, is located and where BMW 3
and 5 Series cars are now produced.The joint venture
plans to invest a total of 450 million euros in the
plant by 2005 and thus contribute significantly to
revitalising the industrial landscape in Shenyang.
Already, more than 4,000 BMW 3 Series cars have
been made in Shenyang from the beginning of
production in September 2003 to the end of the
year. The BMW 5 Series Limousine has also been
manufactured in Shenyang since November 2003
and has met with an extremely positive response
among Chinese customers. In the medium term,
the plant’s annual capacity is to be increased to
30,000 cars, all of which are destined for the Chinese
market.The joint venture will then employ around
3,000 associates.