Mini currently has no plans for domestic production in China, official statement says

BMW currently has no plans to manufacture Mini vehicles in China, auto.qq.com reported today, citing a post appearing on Mini's official Weibo. The official statement comes not long after reports began surfacing in foreign media that BMW would manufacture the new generation of Minis at Brilliance BMW's production site in Liaoning's capital of Shenyang.

The Weibo post begins by acknowledging the attention given to BMW's plans to manufacture vehicles in the country. "We apologize to everyone who has been waiting, but Mini currently has plans for Chinese production," the post continues, adding that there are no plans at the moment to apply for the relevant licenses needed to manufacture vehicles in the country.

According to an announcement made by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Brilliance BMW officially began third-phase expansion of its Shenyang factory this April. The site's annual production capacity will reach 400,000 vehicles following the completion of the expansion project in 2017. In addition to the BMW 3 Series and X1, the site will also manufacture BMW's new SUV and pure electric car models in the future.

A total of 2,038 Minis were sold in China in April, far less than the 5,786 sold in the US during the same period of time.