Beijing Automotive Group, Daimler’s Chinese partner, said it wants to buy a “mid- to high-end brand” in Europe or the United States to boost its global presence and it already has candidates in mind. The state-owned automaker said last year that is was lookin actively to acquire a European car brand, but now the search has extended to the United States, according to Dong Haiyang, who heads Beijing Auto’s international expansion. Maybe, Beijing Automotive should look for a brand closer to home…….say a brand operation in South East Asia.
It will take time for Beijing Auto to break into global markets with its BAIC nameplate, which is little known overseas, so buying a foreign brand is a shortcut, Dong, president of BAIC International Development Co, told a media briefing in Beijing a few days ago. “We have candidates,” he said.
Beijing Auto has been stepping up expansion both home and abroad to better compete with bigger domestic rivals including Dongfeng Motor, SAIC Motor Corp and FAW Group. The company, which acquired the technologies of General Motor Co’s former Saab unit over four years ago, in June set up an international unit to accelerate international expansion.
In China, Beijing Auto bought two small rivals last year and last week signed an agreement with Daimler to jointly invest 4 billion Euros (USD5.51 billion) into their China joint venture to more than double car production by 2015.
Chinese automakers are stepping up their global expansion plans as the domestic market becomes increasingly crowded while the poor health of some European and U.S. rivals offers good buying opportunities.
