BMW Group is driving e-mobility forward by building a plant in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, with Great Wall Motors. The two will produce electric MINI cars as well as models bearing the Chinese carmaker's brands.

The plant, owned by their joint venture Spotlight Automotive, will have a standard capacity of up to 160,000 vehicles per year. It will require around 4,000 employees after the ramp-up phase.

The two partners will invest around 5.1 billion yuan ($724 million). The construction phase is planned for 2020-22 and production is expected to start in 2023.

Zhangjiagang was chosen as the location of the Spotlight plant because of its solid supplier network, skilled workforce and good infrastructure. Jiangsu is also one of the leading provinces for finance, education and technology, said BMW.

The inauguration of the plant in late November marked another milestone in the relationship between Great Wall Motors and BMW.

In the second half of 2018, the two companies signed the agreement of the 50:50 joint venture in Berlin, Germany.

Different from other joint ventures that only introduce models for production, Spotlight will codevelop and produce electric vehicles.

Following the launch of the first-generation fully electric MINI, which will be built at Oxford and come to market in the first quarter of 2020, this is another important step toward MINI's electrified future, said BMW in a statement.

Klaus Froehlich, a BMW board member responsible for development, said the two companies will make the most of their respective advantages to ensure the success of the joint venture.

"With the BMW Group as a pioneer in the field of electromobility and Great Wall as a major player and expert in industrialization in the Chinese market, we are joining forces for development and production of the future electric MINI and new Great Wall models," he said.

Froehlich said China is a driving force of innovation and a place of inspiration, particularly in the field of electrification and digitalization.

"We have already achieved a lot together and have built a solid base for our further cooperation. We do not stop－we think and plan for the long term.

This is something BMW Group and Great Wall have in common," said Froehlich.

During the news conference following the ceremony, Nicolas Peter, a BMW board member responsible for finance, stressed the strategic importance of the cooperation with the Chinese partner.

"It underlines the tremendous importance of the Chinese market for us and our strong belief in the great industrial dynamics of China," said Peter.

He said together with Great Wall Motors, BMW will write automotive history by electrifying small, desirable and affordable premium vehicles.

"Not only for our Chinese customers. Besides the home of MINI－Oxford－we are producing in China, for China and the rest of the world," he said.

Wei Jianjun, chairman of Great Wall Motors, said the partnership will speed up his company's globalization drive. As the largest pickup and SUV producer in China, it has exported models for years and has overseas plants and research and development facilities.

"BMW is an experienced veteran and a teacher for us. We can learn from BMW in terms of technology, global operations and its understanding of local legislation," Wei said.

The German carmaker said it is committed to continuing its successful cooperation with established sales structures and channels in China, so the joint venture will not build an additional sales organization. "Every joint venture partner will use their own sales channel for their specific brands," said BMW.

Besides its partnership with Great Wall Motors, the German carmaker has another joint venture in the country, BMW Brilliance.

Located in Shenyang, Liaoning province, BMW Brilliance has been a cornerstone of the car group's success in its largest market.

It has been locally producing a number of BMW-branded models, including the 3 Series sedan and the X1 crossover SUV.

In 2020, production of the electric iX3 compact SUV will begin at the Shenyang plant.

This will be followed by a large SUV, the BMW iNEXT, to be built at the Dingolfing plant in Germany in 2021.

As a pioneer in e-mobility, BMW is a leading supplier of electrified vehicles. By the end of 2021, the company aims to have more than one million electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids on the road worldwide.

The BMW i4 compact four-door is also due to go into series production at the Munich plant in 2021. By 2023, the company will offer 25 electrified models－more than half of which will be fully electric.

Flexible vehicle architectures, which allow a model to be driven electrically, as a hybrid or with a combustion engine, form the basis for this as well as a highly flexible production system, said BMW.