After their major win overtaking Nissan and Tesla sales with their all-electric EC hatchbacks, leading Chinese carmaker BAIC partners up with North American giant Magna International to build electric vehicles at a 180,000-unit annual capacity plant in Zhenjian.
Press Statement by BAIC Philippines, “BAIC and silent giant Magna partner up to make electric vehicles in China,” 2018:
Magna International, Inc., the auto-industry’s silent global giant, is partnering up with BAIC to build electric vehicles for and in China, the world’s largest automotive market. Well known only in B2B circles, Magna International of Canada is the world’s largest automotive contract manufacturer, both producing parts for major brands like Detroit’s big three and assembling entire vehicles for marques such as Peugeot and MINI.
Where China has required joint ventures of any foreign company intending to manufacture vehicles in the country, they are now phasing out the requirement in the case of electric vehicles, zero-emissions vehicles that they’ve fast tracked to advance their eco-industrial agenda. But, in spite of this shift that would allow Magna to set up their wholly-owned shop in China, they’ve partnered up with BAIC subsidiary Beijing Electric Vehicle Co. Ltd,.
With a deal already in place to develop an all-electric vehicle for China, the partners now add a second agreement for Magna to take over an existing BAIC production facility in Zhenjian, Jiangsu Province where they intend to roll out new models by 2020. Part of the large facility’s 180,000-vehicle annual capacity will also be used for contract work for other companies.
BAIC Chairman Xu Heyi says, “from a strategic point of view, the establishment of the JV’s will benefit both Magna and BAIC to further strengthen our business growth in China.”