Beiqi wants to buy high-end brands in Europe and America

According to a report from Automotive News Europe, BAIC recently stated that the company is planning to acquire a mid- to high-end sedan brand from Europe or the United States to increase its visibility in the international market. It is said that some of the candidate brands have already entered the high-level view of Beijing Auto.

As early as last year, Beiqi had signaled to the outside world that the group is looking for suitable acquisition targets in the European region. However, Dong Haiyang, president of Beiqi International Development Co., Ltd., which is responsible for BAIC's overseas expansion work, said that at present, the sight of BAIC is no longer limited to Europe, and US companies are also considering the scope.

Yesterday (April 3), Dong Haiyang admitted in an interview that with the current popularity of the Beiqi brand, it is difficult to gain recognition in the international market in a short period of time. Therefore, the acquisition of a mature brand in Europe and America with higher reputation will help. The BAIC Group quickly increased its popularity and entered the international market with a “quick and quick” approach. In addition, Dong Haiyang also revealed that "we have already identified suitable acquisition targets."

With the continuous escalation of competition in domestic and foreign markets, BAIC is embarking on its own accelerated expansion to better compete with the large state-owned auto companies including FAW, Second Automobile and SAIC for market share. In December 2009, BAIC acquired the vehicle technology and production equipment of the Saab brand from General Motors for nearly US$200 million. In June last year, BAIC officially established an international business unit within the group, which is responsible for the export of new cars and the group's overseas expansion.

In addition to its active expansion in overseas markets, BAIC has also stepped up the collection of domestic small and medium-sized car companies. In 2013, BAIC completed the acquisition of 70% equity of Changhe Automobile and two domestic automobile enterprises of Zhenjiang Automobile Manufacturing Plant. Last week, Beijing Auto just signed an agreement with its partner Daimler Group to invest 4 billion euros in boosting Mercedes-Benz's domestic production capacity. As part of the cooperation, it is planned that by 2015, the vehicle production capacity of the Mercedes-Benz Beijing plant will be doubled on an existing basis, reaching an annual production capacity of 200,000 vehicles.

As making profits in the domestic market is becoming more and more difficult, many domestic car companies have taken steps to expand overseas. Especially in the European market has not yet recovered from the previous six-year downturn, many European companies have serious losses, in urgent need of funds to maintain business, domestic companies can not only take the initiative in the acquisition process, but also can greatly reduce the price, saving Acquisition costs. Last week, Dongfeng Group and France’s Peugeot-Citroën Group formally signed a capital increase and share purchase agreement. Dongfeng will provide Peugeot-Citroen with 3 billion euros in exchange for a 14% stake in the company. The Geely Holding Group, which had already completed a wholly-owned acquisition of Volvo in 2010, acquired Emerald Automotive, a British electric vehicle startup, in March of this year. Just a month ago, Geely also took the assets of Manganese Bronze Holdings, the maker of British iconic Black London taxis, for about $18.5 million.