Audi is not the only major global luxury brand accelerating EV production in China.
BMW last month opened a new assembly plant in the northeast China city of Shenyang along with local partner Brilliance Automobile Holdings Group Co. That factory, BMW’s third production facility in the city, will produce full electric vehicles only.
BMW’s new plant represents an investment of $2.24 billion. In February, the Germany automaker raised its stake in BMW Brilliance to 75 percent from 50 percent. The joint venture assembles vehicles only for the BMW brand.
Tesla and Chinese automakers such as BYD dominate China’s booming EV market, with sales more than doubling from a year ago.
Meanwhile, legacy automakers that have relied on the internal combustion engine for decades, such as General Motors and Volkswagen Group, are falling behind in the market.
Nearly a quarter of the cars sold in China in the first five months of this year were battery powered, according to data from the China Association of Automotive Manufacturers.
