BEIJING: BMW said on Friday it planned to invest an additional 20 billion yuan ($2.76 billion) in its Shenyang production base in China, in a sign of the premium carmaker’s “unwavering commitment to the Chinese market”.

The sum, which brings total investment in the plant up to some 105 billion yuan, will allow for production of the Neue Klasse EV-only line, a multibillion-euro effort to jump the technology gap with competitors, starting in 2026, it added. “It’s a commitment that not only points to our success in China over the past three decades, but also expresses our confidence for the years ahead,” said CEO Oliver Zipse in a statement.

The news comes just two weeks after Zipse and other business executives accompanied German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on a three-day visit to China.

Berlin is walking a tightrope on China, seeking to consolidate and even expand, in some sectors, in the world’s second largest economy, while at the same time reducing risky exposure.

German automakers turned up in full force at this week’s Beijing Auto Show, the country’s largest, as they fight to stay on top of consumer trends in their largest market, where fierce local competition has become a major headache.