Auto parts firm Magna plans electric vehicle joint ventures with Chinese company

A man walks in front of a new plant of the international automotive supplier Magna in the Magna Exteriors and Interiors (Meerane) GmbH in Meerane, eastern Germany, Wednesday, April 24, 2013. (AP / Jens Meyer)

AURORA, Ont. - Magna International Inc. says it will form two new joint ventures with a Chinese company to engineer and build electric vehicles.

The Ontario-based auto parts company and Beijing Electric Vehicle Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of the BAIC Group, are expected to take over an existing BAIC manufacturing facility where the first production vehicles are planned for 2020. The plant has the capacity to build up to 180,000 vehicles per year.

Magna says the engineering and manufacturing joint ventures will also be set up to offer engineering and complete vehicle manufacturing to other customers.

The plans for the joint venture follow an agreement in April that saw BAIC Group and Magna agree to develop smart electric vehicle architecture for the Chinese market.

It is expected that this work will be transferred to the engineering joint venture and will form the platform of the new electric vehicles to be launched by the joint venture.

Both joint ventures are subject to a number of conditions and Magna says it will work with authorities to implement legally binding joint-venture agreements over the coming months.