Brilliance Auto Group

On 9 June 1992,[12] a subsidiary, Brilliance China Automotive Holding Limited (Chinese: 华晨中国汽车控股有限公司; short name: Brilliance China[13] or sometimes, Brilliance Auto, Brilliance or former NYSE ticker symbol "CBA") was incorporated in Bermuda. In the same year, the company was registered as a foreign company in the Hong Kong Companies Registry, 5 years before the British colony became a special administrative region of China. Initially, the subsidiary owned 40% stake of Shenyang Jinbei Coach Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (Chinese: 沈阳金杯客车制造有限公司),[14] while the rest of the stake was owned by another company, Shenyang Jinbei Automotive Company Limited (Chinese: 金杯汽车股份有限公司; SSE: 600609).[14][15] The ratio was later changed to 51% owned by Brilliance China Auto and 49% owned by Shenyang Jinbei Automotive.[14]^:244 The American depositary shares of Brilliance China Auto was floated in New York Stock Exchange from 1992[14] as NYSE:CBA. The company intended to delist from NYSE in 2007[16][17] and completed in 2009.[18]

In 1999, the Group injected most part of the group assets to the subsidiary, and the shares started to float in the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (now part of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing) as SEHK:1114.[19] As of 31 December 2019, Huachen Automotive Group (Brilliance Auto Group) owned 42.32% shares of the listed company as the largest and controlling shareholder.[4]

In 1999, Brilliance Auto Group also acquired another listed company, Shanghai Shenhua Industrial Company Limited (SSIC). The company, as of 2020, is known as Shanghai Shenhua Holdings Company Limited (in short: "SSHC" or "Shenhua Holdings"; Chinese: 上海申华控股股份有限公司; SSE: 600653; also known as Shanghai Brilliance Group Co. Ltd. circa 2000).[14]^:247 That company became the dealer of Jinbei coach that year.[14]^:247 As of 31 December 2019, Brilliance Auto Group still owned 12.80% shares directly, and additional 10.14% indirectly, as the largest shareholder of Shenhua Holdings.[1]^:37–38

The Group has another listed associate company that is listing in the Shanghai Stock Exchange: Shenyang Jinbei Automotive Company Limited. As of 31 December 2019, the Brilliance Auto Group, via an intermediate company Shenyang Automobile Industry Asset Management Company Limited (Chinese: 沈阳市汽车工业资产经营有限公司), owned 24.38% shares of that company as the largest and controlling shareholder.[20] It was planned to inject the stake into the major listed company of the group, Brilliance Auto, in 2003.[21] However, the deal was collapsed. Nevertheless, Shenyang Jinbei Automotive did not have the controlling interest on Shenyang Jinbei Coach Manufacturing since 1992, which is the predecessor of Brilliance Jinbei[22] (now Renault Brilliance Jinbei).

Shenyang Jinbei Automotive was listed in the stock exchange since 1992.[15] Shenyang Jinbei Automotive and Brilliance Auto Group were separate conglomerates, which the controlling stake of Shenyang Jinbei Automotive was acquired by FAW Group in 1995.[14]^:246[23] Shenyang Automobile Industry AMC agreed to acquire 29.91% stake from FAW Group in 2000.[24][25] In 2001, Shenhua Holdings agreed to acquire the shares of Shenyang Jinbei Automotive that held by Shenyang Automobile Industry AMC,[14]^:248[25] allowing the Jinbei marque integrated into the Group. However, the deal revised into Brilliance Auto agreed to acquire the stake from Shenyang Automobile Industry AMC in 2003.[21][14]^:250–251 Despite the final deal became Brilliance Auto Group acquired Shenyang Automobile Industry AMC directly in April 2018 from the Shenyang Municipal People's Government, which in turn has the full control on the stake of Shenyang Jinbei Automotive that held by the AMC.[26]

In 2003, BMW and Brilliance Auto signed a deal for the production of BMW-branded sedans in China.[7] Its models are, alongside FAW Group Audis and Beijing Benz Mercedes Benzes, some of the only Western luxury cars to have gained popularity in the Chinese market.[27]

In October 2018, BMW Brilliance, a 50-50 joint venture between BMW and the listed company Brilliance Auto, was take over by BMW by acquiring additional 25% shares.[28][29]

Alongside many Chinese automakers looking to enter the US market, Brilliance postponed such plans in 2008 but has briefly sold cars in Europe.[30] Sales in several European countries stopped in 2010.

Brilliance the listed subsidiary divested itself of the loss-making Zhonghua branch in November 2009,[31] to its parent company Brilliance Auto Group. As of 2019, the unlisted portion of the Group continues to produce and sell Zhonghua branded vehicles.[5]

In 2012, Brilliance Auto Group[32] formed a joint venture Brilliance Shineray (Chinese: 华晨鑫源) in Chongqing with Shineray Group[32] to produce SWM[33] and Jinbei[32] brands automobiles. As of 2019, Shineray Group owned 80% stake of the joint venture. The rest is owned by 沈阳华益新汽车销售有限公司.[34] The latter is not part of the Brilliance Auto Group,[35][36] but the Group provides guarantee to some debt of that company.[37]

In 2013, Brilliance Auto formed a spin-off listed company Xinchen China Power Holdings Limited.[38]

In 2017, the listed subsidiary Brilliance Auto also formed another joint venture Renault Brilliance Jinbei with Renault.[39][40] Renault Brilliance Jinbei and aforementioned Shenyang Jinbei Automotive, are two separate companies. The listed company Brilliance Auto acquired the remaining 39.1% stake of Brilliance Jinbei from fellow listed company (and sister company) Shenyang Jinbei Automotive,[41] and then Brilliance Auto re-sold 49% stake to Renault.[42]

In November 2020, it was reported that the Brilliance Auto Group, the parent company of the listed company Brilliance Auto, went into bankruptcy administration.[43] Brilliance Auto Group and aforementioned 沈阳华益新汽车销售有限公司 were sued by TF Securities in August 2020.[37] From October to November, Brilliance Auto Group itself also announced the default of its corporate bonds worth more than CNY6.5 billion.[44] It was reported that the administration is not affecting the listed companies Brilliance Auto, Xinchen China Power, Shenhua Holdings and Shenyang Jinbei Automotive or the joint ventures.[44]

• Brilliance H220 (1.5 litre)
• Brilliance H230 (1.5 litre)
• Brilliance H320 (1.5 litre)
• Brilliance H330 (1.5 litre)
• Brilliance H530 (1.5 and 1.6 litre)
• Brilliance H3
• Brilliance V3 (1.5 litre)
• Brilliance V5 (1.5 and 1.6 litre)
• Brilliance V6
• Brilliance V7[47]

• Brilliance Tun (Dolphin)
• Brilliance BS2
  • Brilliance FRV (1.6 1.8 and 2.0 litre)[48]
  • Brilliance FRV Cross (1.5 and 1.6 litre)
  • Brilliance FSV (1.5 and 1.6 litre)
• Brilliance M1 (Zunchi) (1.8 and 2.0 litre)
• Brilliance M2 (Junjie) (1.8 and 2.0 litre)
• Brilliance M3 (Kubao) (1.8 litre)

• 
  Brilliance Tun
• 
  Brilliance FRV
• 
  Brilliance FRV Cross
• 
  Brilliance FSV
• 
  Brilliance FSV Sport
• 
  Brilliance H220
• 
  Brilliance H230
• 
  Brilliance H320
• 
  Brilliance H330
• 
  Brilliance H530
• 
  Brilliance H3
• 
  Brilliance M2
• 
  Brilliance V3
• 
  Brilliance V5
• 
  Brilliance V6
• 
  Brilliance V7

While the Group also manufactures gasoline engines and other automotive components,[49] automobile manufacture is performed by the indirectly held subsidiaries and joint venture Renault Brilliance Jinbei and BMW Brilliance of which Brilliance Auto (the listed company) has 51% and 25% ownership respectively.

BMW-branded autos are made at a production base in the Northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang completed in 2004, and ongoing construction saw this base increase its production capacity to 200,000 units/year by 2012.[50]

An engine-making production base is located in Mianyang, Sichuan province.[9]

In 2003, BMW and Brilliance agreed to make select products of this German luxury carmaker in China.[7] As of 2010, the joint venture makes the BMW 3 Series and BMW 5 Series and had plans to introduce the BMW X1 by 2012.[51] As of 2011, locally produced engines were slated to appear in some offerings soon, and the company had plans to bring up total production capacity to 300,000 by 2013.[52]

These vehicles may differ slightly from those sold in other markets under the same names. As of mid-2010 almost 60% of the components used to manufacture the China-built BMWs were imported to China.[51]

Brilliance Shineray is a joint venture between Brilliance Auto Group and Shineray Motorcycle Company (Shineray Group), one of China's largest motorcycle producers. Shineray Group bought the Italian motorcycle brand, SWM (motorcycles), and started an automotive brand with the SWM nameplate. SWM now makes a range of crossovers and compact MPVs.

• SWM G01
• SWM X7
• SWM X3

• 
  SWM G01
• 
  SWM X3
• 
  SWM X7

Brilliance has made microvans with Toyota technology since the early 1990s, but the two do not have a fully fledged joint venture.[53] Their partnership has been described as "licensing arrangements and alliances."[54]

In 2015, Brilliance announced it had started joint production with SAIPA of Iran, to produce the H300 and H200 models, under the local brand name of Saipa.[55]

In 2007, Brilliance's BS6 sedan performed poorly in a crash test conducted by Germany's ADAC, receiving only one out of five possible stars in the Euro NCAP rating.[57] Brilliance then redesigned the car, changing at least sixty components, and it saw a three-star performance in a crash test performed by Spain's Idiada.[58] However, the price also rose considerably,[59] and the importer (HSO Motors) went bankrupt in November 2009.[60] Brilliance then tried to go it alone, but with high pricing and considerable market reluctance after the well-publicized crash test failures, exports to Europe were ended in April 2010 with no immediate plans for resumption.[61]