The BMW 318I, made by the German auto giant's Chinese factory, will go on sale across the country on April 17, six months after BMW debuted its first made-in-China sedan.

Franz Stefan Jung, senior vice president of BMW Brilliance, the joint venture of BMW and Brilliance China Automotive, told Xinhua Wednesday that two 5 series BMW sedans, the 520I and 525I, will role off the production line in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, in the first half of this year.

The price of the BMW 318I, the most popular model in the BMW 3 series, will not be released until April 17, he added.

The company's production capability will reach 30,000 this year and its total investment in the Chinese factory will top 450 million euros, Jung said.

The production capability and distribution network do not meet the growing market demand that has greatly exceeded the company's expectation, he said.

Last year, BMW sold 18,700 cars on the Chinese mainland, about three times the figure for 2002, according to China Economic Information Network.

BMW Brilliance plans to increase dealers to 41 by the end of this year and to 55 by the end of 2005.
 
(Xinhua News Agency April 8, 2004)