Magna and BJEV open development centre in China

Magna is to cooperate with Beijing Electric Vehicle (BJEV), which is the electric car subsidiary of the Chinese car manufacturer BAIC. The joint venture will open a development centre in Zhenjiang and operate under the name Magna Blue Sky NEV Technology (Zhenjiang).

The engineering centre will employ around 420 people. As part of their existing joint venture, the two companies also announced the ground-breaking ceremony for a new test centre for electrified vehicles with around 12,000 square meters, which is expected to open in September of this year. In principle, both partners also want to offer services and vehicle manufacturing capacities to third parties.

“We are delighted to be working with BJEV to deliver advanced technology solutions that advance electric mobility,” said Karl Stracke, responsible for Automotive & Engineering at Magna Steyr. In June 2018, the Austrian automotive supplier announced two joint ventures with BJEV for the joint development and production of electric cars. Local production is scheduled to start in 2020.

Already in April, the automotive supplier announced its cooperation with the Chinese car manufacturer BAIC. The first joint project is the development of an intelligent electric vehicle architecture for the Chinese market. Last October Magna announced the establishment of another joint venture in China for electric drives with the SAIC subsidiary Huayu Automotive Systems. With the establishment of two new joint ventures and the establishment of development and testing institutions, Magna is now stepping up its activities in China.

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