Daimler, BAIC earmark 1b euros to expand China capacity

Daimler?and Mercedes car logos?are pictured?in Stuttgart on February 6, 2014. [Photo / Agencies]

Germany's Daimler and Beijing Automotive Industry Corp have earmarked 1 billion euros ($1.37 billion) of a 4 billion-euro China investment plan to more than double car production at their joint venture by 2015.

Daimler said the two companies signed an agreement on the occasion of Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Germany on Friday.

They will invest the money to raise production capacity for the C-class, E-Class and GLK at Beijing Benz Automotive to more than 200,000 cars per year, Daimler said in a statement.

In December, Daimler agreed to buy a stake in Beijing Automotive Group's passenger car unit as part of a strategy to revive its operations in China.

Daimler declined to detail how much each company would contribute toward the 1 billion euros investment plan.

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Daimler to pursue cost cuts beyond 2b euro goal	Daimler revs up with key stake in BAIC