<p class="title">Luxury German carmaker BMW on Friday said it would build fully electric models of its Mini cars at a new plant in China, as it kicked off a joint venture with Chinese partner Great Wall Motor.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Some 160,000 cars a year are set to roll off the assembly line at the planned factory in the city of Zhangjiagang in Jiangsu province, which will eventually employ 3,000 people.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Construction of the plant is slated to last from 2020 to 2022, BMW said in a statement.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Both partners are together investing 650 million euros ($715 million) in the project.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Alongside BMW's all-electric Mini, the Chinese company will also build some of its own brand models at the plant.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"This is another important step towards the Mini brand's electrified future," the statement said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The BMW Group had already announced it would start manufacturing the first fully electric version of the iconic compact car at its Mini plant in Oxford, England this month.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Those first Mini E models are set to come to market early next year.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Chinese tie-up comes as BMW joins other global carmakers in accelerating the shift to electric and hybrid vehicles, spurred by environmental concerns.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The costly pivot to the cleaner, smarter cars of tomorrow is hitting automakers hard at a time when the global industry is battling headwinds from a darkening economic outlook.</p>.<p class="bodytext">China is the world's largest car market but after years of strong growth, car sales there fell last year for the first time since the 1990s.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A slowing economy, US-China trade tensions, and a Chinese crackdown on shady credit practices have all weighed on demand.</p>.<p class="bodytext">BMW board member Nicolas Peter said the Chinese joint venture, known as Spotlight Automotive Limited, underscored "the enormous importance of the Chinese market for us".</p>.<p class="bodytext">Worldwide, BMW has set itself the goal of having more than one million fully-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids on the roads by the end of 2021.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Demand for its flagship BMW i3 electric car has jumped by around 20 percent this year compared with 2018, it said.</p>
<p class="title">Luxury German carmaker BMW on Friday said it would build fully electric models of its Mini cars at a new plant in China, as it kicked off a joint venture with Chinese partner Great Wall Motor.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Some 160,000 cars a year are set to roll off the assembly line at the planned factory in the city of Zhangjiagang in Jiangsu province, which will eventually employ 3,000 people.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Construction of the plant is slated to last from 2020 to 2022, BMW said in a statement.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Both partners are together investing 650 million euros ($715 million) in the project.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Alongside BMW's all-electric Mini, the Chinese company will also build some of its own brand models at the plant.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"This is another important step towards the Mini brand's electrified future," the statement said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The BMW Group had already announced it would start manufacturing the first fully electric version of the iconic compact car at its Mini plant in Oxford, England this month.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Those first Mini E models are set to come to market early next year.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Chinese tie-up comes as BMW joins other global carmakers in accelerating the shift to electric and hybrid vehicles, spurred by environmental concerns.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The costly pivot to the cleaner, smarter cars of tomorrow is hitting automakers hard at a time when the global industry is battling headwinds from a darkening economic outlook.</p>.<p class="bodytext">China is the world's largest car market but after years of strong growth, car sales there fell last year for the first time since the 1990s.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A slowing economy, US-China trade tensions, and a Chinese crackdown on shady credit practices have all weighed on demand.</p>.<p class="bodytext">BMW board member Nicolas Peter said the Chinese joint venture, known as Spotlight Automotive Limited, underscored "the enormous importance of the Chinese market for us".</p>.<p class="bodytext">Worldwide, BMW has set itself the goal of having more than one million fully-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids on the roads by the end of 2021.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Demand for its flagship BMW i3 electric car has jumped by around 20 percent this year compared with 2018, it said.</p>