Billiance

	Billiance
Country	China
Parent	-
Subsidiaries	BMW Brilliance - 49.5%
Brands	Brilliance, Zhonghua (cars), Jinbei (minivan), Granse (minivan)
Location	Headquarters, R&D center and main assembly plants: Shenyang
Sales figures	2016: 774,400 units (Zhonghua: 162,300 units; BMW: 310,000 units) 2015: 856,000 units (Zhonghua: ? units; BMW: 287,000 units) 2014: 802,000 units (Zhonghua: 141,200 units; BMW: 278,529 units) 2013: 777,000 units (Zhonghua: 182,000 units; BMW: 206,729 units) 2012: 671,617 units (Zhonghua: 152,000 units; BMW: 160,849 units) 2011: 567,000 units (Zhonghua: 134,000 units; BMW: 108,189 units) 2010: 501,400 units (Zhonghua: 159,709 units; BMW: 70,488 units) 2009: 348,000 units (Zhonghua: 119,138 units; BMW: 44,888 units) 2008: 285,242 units (Zhonghua: 91,356 units; BMW: 35,068 units) 2007: 300,369 units (Zhonghua: 106,770 units; BMW: 32,100 units) 2006: 200,066 units (Zhonghua: 62,281 units; BMW: 26,600 units) 2016 domestic sales by model: BMW 2-series: 14,400 units BMW 3-series: 96,921 units BMW 5-series: 143,779 units BMW X1: 54,900 units Zhonghua H220/230: 7,832 units Zhonghua H330: 27,419 units Zhonghua H530: 4,014 units Zhonghua Junjie FRV/FSV: 9,069 units Zhonghua V3: 103,343 units Zhonghua V5: 9,661 units Reference: Group: http://www.brilliance-auto.com Brilliance BMW: http://www.brillianceauto.com/investor/annual.html http://www.qqbenz.com/ http://www.qichexl.com/a/xiaoliangpaixing/
Introduction	Billiance Auto is a holding company whose main asset is majority stakes in Shenyang Automotive, which produces the cars and minivans described here. Being a small Chinese car maker, it offers a simple lineup consisting of a few passenger car and commercial minivan models. The passenger cars are sold under the "Zhonghua" brand, which means Chinese. Zhonghua cars were the first mass production Chinese car having its own intellectual property rights. The minivans are sold under "Jinbei" or "Granse" brand, either are badge-engineered version of Toyota models made under license. Besides, Brilliance also has a joint-venture with BMW to produce 3 and 5-series for the China market.
Brief History	Brilliance was established in 1992 through acquiring majority stakes in Shenyang Automotive. Shenyang did not have a long history either. Its main business was producing Toyota Hiace minivan under license and rebranded it as "Jinbei" (means golden cup). However, to grow its business and survive the consolidation of local motor industry, Brilliance determined to develop its own passenger car, which would be called "Zhonghua", or Chinese. The first Zhonghua car was a mid-size sedan designed by Italdesign and powered by Mitsubishi-licensed engines. Born in 2002, it was the first mass production Chinese car having its own intellectual property rights. At that moment, other Chinese car manufacturers were still satisfied with building foreign cars through joint-ventures. Brillance also formed a joint-venture with BMW to produce 5-series for the domestic market. That venture helped it to get the latest production technology from Germany. Zhonghua sedan (2002) However, the path for self-developed cars was proved more difficult than originally thought. Zhonghua sedan could not match its locally-built foreign competitors for build quality, performance and refinement. While it was extensively used as taxis and government cars, it failed to capture decent sales in private car market. 3 years later, it was improved and splitted into two models, the classier Zunchi (BS6) and the affordable Junjie (BS4). Sales improved a little. In late 2006, Brilliance exported 3,000 units of BS6 to Western Europe, the first time a Chinese car achieved that. Kubao (BC3) (2007) In 2007, they were joined with the Pininfarina-designed Kubao coupe (BC3). Its chassis was again engineered by Porsche, while a new 1.8 turbo engine was developed by German engineering firm FEV. Unfortunately, the coupe did not sale well. Junjie FRV (BS2) (2008) In 2008, Brilliance' lineup expanded to the C-segment with Junjie FRV (Family Recreational Vehicle), actually a family hatchback in our language. This time designed by Italdesign, chassis engineered by Lotus and powered by Mitsubishi powertrain. Brilliance hoped the car could lift its business to another league, otherwise itself could be a target of merger.