BMW Group has expanded its production footprint in China with the official opening of Plant Lydia in Shenyang, aiming to respond to increasing e-mobility demand in the country, Kallanish reports.

The plant, developed by the BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) joint venture, is the latest example of the BMW iFACTORY strategy and sets new standards in future oriented vehicle manufacturing. It’s the first BMW Group plant fully planned and simulated in the virtual world from the start.

Lydia is producing the new BMW i3 – BMW’s first all-electric mid-size sports sedan for the Chinese market. BMW explains the renewables-powered plant is “fully flexible to meet the growing customer demand for e-mobility and produce up to 100% EVs.” It’s unclear which other models are currently running on its production lines.

With the RMB 15 billion ($2.24 billion), the BMW Shenyang production base has increased to 830,000 vehicles per year.  

“We’re stepping up our e-mobility efforts, aiming for more than a quarter of our sales in China to be all electric by 2025. With BMW’s expanded and upgraded production base in Shenyang, we are now fully prepared to serve the growing market demand for e-mobility in China,” says BMW Group Region China Jochen Goller.