BAIC Motor, Daimler Boost Investment to Make Electric Cars in China

BAIC Motor Corp. (1958.HK) and Germany's Daimler AG (DAI.XE) plan to boost investment in their Chinese joint venture to speed up the development of electric cars in the world's largest auto market.

The Chinese car maker said after markets closed Wednesday that it signed a deal with Daimler to jointly invest another 5 billion yuan ($735 million) in Beijing Benz Automotive Co., which produces Mercedes-Benz cars in China. The deal comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping is on a state visit to Germany to deepen ties with the major European economy.

The Sino-German joint venture plans to locally produce battery-electric cars under the Mercedes-Benz brand at the production hub in Beijing by 2020, Daimler said in a separate statement.

Write to Joanne Chiu at joanne.chiu@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 05, 2017 07:48 ET (11:48 GMT)