[11] Bmw Only Making This Year Gallery

“We are strengthening our focus on meeting the needs and aspirations of our Chinese customers,” Friedrich Eichiner, the chief financial officer of BMW, said at a news conference in Beijing, according remarks provided by BMW.

China’s growing layer of well-off consumers has been a boon to German high-end carmakers like BMW as well as the Audi unit of Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz from Daimler. China has become such an important market for the Germans that any economic hiccup there is quickly felt back home.

BMW, based in Munich, sold 225,000 cars under the BMW, Rolls-Royce and Mini brands in China during the first six months of 2014, including vehicles manufactured outside China. That was a 23 percent increase compared with the same period a year earlier. China has surpassed the United States as BMW’s largest market.

BMW produces cars in China under a joint venture with Brilliance Auto. The partnership agreement, which would have expired in 2018, will be extended until at least 2028, Mr. Eichiner said. The dealer network for BMW and Mini cars will also be expanded to try to reach customers in smaller cities, he said, without giving figures. The company currently has 430 BMW and 97 Mini dealerships in China.

In a response to concerns about air pollution in China, BMW said it would also put more emphasis on hybrid and battery-powered cars. The company will begin selling its i3 and i8 battery-powered models in China in September. And before the end of the year, BMW will begin selling a plug-in hybrid version of its 5 Series, the best-selling of its models in China.