China Daily (Beijing) - After big expansion in manufacturing capacity and product portfolios in China, foreign carmakers are now looking beyond the populous market for new growth opportunities.
Beijing Benz Automobile Co, the joint venture between Beijing Automobile Group and Mercedes-Benz, last week handed over the first of 35 long-wheelbase E-Class sedans to Daimler AG, parent of the German premium carmaker, for sale in South America.
The extended wheelbase E-Class sedan - tailored for Chinese customers who prefer a roomy back seat - is built nowhere else in the world except the joint venture plant in Beijing. The model first hit the market in July last year.
Ulrich Walker, chairman and CEO of Daimler Northeast Asia, said that the company now sees that the stretched E-Class is appreciated not only in China but also is winning the favor of new customers in South America.
He added that the company will take full advantage of the knowledge and capacity in producing the lengthened E-Class to satisfy the demand in specific markets that can not be served by its operations elsewhere.
According to market research firm JD Power-LMC, Mercedes-Benz has plants in Brazil and Argentina assembling mostly commercial vehicles like the Sprinter van. It sold about 15,000 passenger vehicles in South America last year, including more than 1,000 E-Class sedans.
Likely a dark horse
Xu Heyi, chairman of Beijing Automobile Group and the joint venture, said the exports prove Beijing Benz has the competence to join in international competition and the long-wheelbase E-Class it produces is expected to be a dark horse in the global market.
The joint venture, which also makes the C-Class sedan and the GLK SUV, is currently capable of producing 100,000 cars a year. It is building new facilities that could boost total annual output at the joint venture to 400,000 units or even more in 2015, the company said earlier this year.
Mercedes-Benz will bring three other compact models to China for local production starting in 2013, according to an agreement inked by both partners this year. Media reports speculate that the models could be the A-Class, B-Class and the BLK.