Shineray replaces Brilliance in China
- The Chinese manufacturer Brilliance was created in 1992 in Shenyang (Liaoning province). It was initially one of the main Chinese manufacturers of minibuses between 1992 and 2002. In 2003, Brilliance signed an agreement with BMW for the JV production of BMW brand sedans in China. The cooperation between the two manufacturers is working well since the production volume of BMW in China has increased from 10,000 units in 2005 to 65,000 in 2010, 287,000 in 2015 and 602,000 in 2020. But the Brilliance brand, which sells its own models, has great difficulty establishing itself on the Chinese market, facing more dynamic and more reactive competitors. From 295,000 units in 2016, its sales fell down to 145,000 in 2020. Brilliance went bankrupt in 2020. BMW then came to the rescue to save Brilliance, thus saving the production of its own models. Of 50% of the shares in the JV, BMW now holds 75%, the remaining 25% being the property of the Chinese company Shineray which had been a partner of Brilliance for several years and which markets its cars in China under the SWM brand. It is this Shineray group which took over the former prerogatives of Brilliance, because today the Brilliance brand no longer exists as an automobile brand.
- It is the Shineray group which manufactures BMWs at the historic Brilliance site in Shenyang as well as SWMs at the historic Shineray site in Chongqing. To this must be added the production of Jinbei minivans, a brand which is a former subsidiary of Brilliance which had been a partner of Renault for a time. In the first half of 2023, the Shineray group produced 40,000 Jinbei, 17,000 SWM and above all 350,000 BMW. No Brilliance models have been produced since December 2022.