BMW AG’s China joint venture with Great Wall Motor Co. is set to start production in 2023, as the German carmaker aims to have electric vehicles (EVs) make up one-quarter of its sales in the country.

The construction of a manufacturing plant with Great Wall is “well under way” and the main structure should be completed later this year, BMW’s China chief executive officer Jochen Goller said. Production of two Mini EVs for the China and global markets will start in 2023, he said.

China is already the world’s biggest electric vehicle market, and traditional automakers like BMW and Volkswagen AG are battling with a slew of upstarts as well as tech giants like Huawei Technologies Co. plus more random entrants such as property developer China Evergrande Group for a slice of the market.

The first day of the Shanghai auto show held this week was dominated by EV reveals, with Toyota Motor Corp. unveiling its first SUV built on an electric platform.

Highlighting the opportunities — and challenges — of China’s burgeoning EV market, BMW was the only traditional carmaker in its hall at the Shanghai show, an event aimed at highlighting the industry’s latest innovations.

BMW was surrounded by Nio Inc., Xpeng Inc., Zeekr, the new luxury EV brand from Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., tech giant Huawei and China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group Ltd., which has designs on toppling Tesla Inc. but has yet to produce a single car.

Despite the intensifying competition, Goller said he remains optimistic about the long-term outlook for China’s auto market. With the growth of an affluent middle class, China’s car market will “continuously boom,” he said.

The German automaker is off to a strong start, with 229,000 BMWs and Minis delivered in China in the first quarter, Goller said. That’s after sales rose 8 percent last year. (SD-Agencies)