VOL. 52 ISSUE 14 APRIL 7, 2015 P61
We started eight years ago
with Loncin, with a contract
first for single-cylinder engine
assembly. Doing business with
the Chinese is not very easy.
It is very important to establish
a relationship, and with Loncin
we have now developed
such a relationship. We have
therefore decided to produce
a second engine there, a
twin-cylinder middleweight
design that is currently under
development. This is a more
complicated engine that will
someday fire BMW's new mid-
capacity class models. This is
a very good basis for continued expansion of our
relationship with Loncin.
Would you consider having your electric
vehicles manufactured by them also, because
in China they have a huge electric motorcycle
and scooter industry since combustion-
engined motorcycles are es-
sentially not allowed in any
major cities or on freeways?
Yes, and no. Let me answer
in principle to China. Besides
the Loncin-built products we
export lots of CBUs [complete
built up motorcycles made in
Germany] into China, and we
see the future Chinese motor-
cycle market behavior following
the car market, which has ex-
panded so greatly in the recent
past. We feel that it's about to
start growing also for big bikes,
in which there's growing inter-
est in China, and I personally
believe this will be a very important market for us
in the future.
However, saying that and being often in China
myself, it's obvious that there is a pollution prob-
lem, and it's only logical that electric mobility will
be an issue. We have the only offer in the electric
"I SEE THAT THAT
HIGHLY MOTIVATED
TEAM'S PERSONAL
INVOLVEMENT AND
HANDS-ON KNOWLEDGE
ABOUT MOTORCYCLING
AS RESPONSIBLE FOR
A BIG PART OF BMW'S
CURRENT SUCCESS ON
TWO WHEELS."
Since January
of last year,
BMW started
assembling its
F800 models
(pictured here)
in Thailand.
