First China-made BMWs turned down while registering license plate numbers

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 18, 2003

First China-made BMWs turned down while registering license plate numbers

More than 1,000 locally-made BMW sedans have been sold since sales began on October 18 in China, but none has a license plate number.

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More than 1,000 locally-made BMW sedans have been sold since sales began on October 18 in China, but none has a license plate number.

The data for the BMW 325I, which the car maker reported to the administrations of transportation and environmental protection, did not match with the cars sold, said Li, a manager from Yanbaodecar sales company, the only BMW dealer in Beijing.

The administrations have stopped processing license registration numbers for BMW 325I models due to this mistake, Li told Xinhua Tuesday.

He confirmed that Yanbaode has sold more than 100 cars in Beijing but none has obtained a license plate number so far.

German-based auto giant BMW saw its Series 3 sedans roll off the production line in northeast China's Liaoning Province last month, making it the second foreign luxury auto maker in China following Volkswagen's Audi.

The BMW 325I, priced at 473,850 yuan (41,000 US dollars), is 200,000 yuan cheaper than its imported counterpart.

Under the agreement signed by BMW and Brilliance China Automotive, the BMW5 is also being produced locally.

Li said the mistake occurred possibly because the manufacturer is new in China and not experienced enough.

A new set of data was reported to the administrations last weekand things are expected to work out in two weeks, he said.

Insiders here said the company rushed to promote the cars against competitors.

Audi, having monopolized luxury cars in China, began to import its A8 series to China to challenge the imported limousine market domination by Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Besides Audi and BMW, Japan's Toyota Motor Corporation plans toinvest 311 million US dollars to produce its luxury "Crown" model in China. The production of the "Crown" will be Toyota's first luxury car production outside Japan.

Daimler-Chrysler also planned to build a factory in the countryfor Mercedes-Benz production. It has signed a one-billion-euro framework agreement with Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. Ltd. to build Mercedes luxury cars and trucks in China. The deal aims for the production of 25,000 luxury cars every year.

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