April 20, 2007

BMW chairman Dr. Norbert Reithofer: “The Chinese market … is clearly headed towards becoming one of the world’s most important automotive markets. … It is our goal to increase retail volume in Asia to 150,000 vehicles by next year.”
At what has become and increasingly important auto show for worldwide manufacturers, BMW Group pulled out all the stops at the 12th Auto Shanghai 2007 exhibition Friday. On hand for their Asian debut: the next-generation X5, the new 3 Series Convertible, a hydrogen-powered 7 Series, and the gorgeous Concept CS four-door coupe.

Automotive sales in China are exploding, thanks to the country’s robust manufacturing economy and emerging middle- and executive-class buyers. With the Shanghai introductions—some headed for worldwide distribution, others designed for the Chinese market exclusively—BMW Group looks poised to capitalize on that growth, with its BMW and MINI brands covering the spectrumk of potential buyers.


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