BAIC Group betting big on SUVs, new energy vehicles

Beijing Automotive Group Co, the Chinese partner of Hyundai Motor Co and Daimler AG, is betting that developing SUVs and new energy cars is the best way to achieve growth of its brands.

Xu Heyi, chairman of the fifth-biggest Chinese auto group by unit sales, said last week that SUVs, which he referred to mainly as off-road vehicles, and new energy vehicles are "our two trump cards".

BAIC Group, which started making off-roaders in the 1960s, is the first SUV producer in the country, and its subsidiary, Beijing Electric Vehicle Co, is one of China's best-selling new energy producers.

"It will be great if we do a good job in the two segments. It's unnecessary for us to be an all-rounder," Xu said.

BAIC Group is gaining momentum in both of these two sectors. Last year, its sales of SUVs and new energy vehicles under its own badges doubled, to 27,000 and 103,000 units respectively.

In the first half of this year, the company moved 14,000 SUVs, up 37 percent from the same period a year earlier. Deliveries of its new energy vehicles soared by 78.5 percent to 54,000 units in the same period. The company's SUV lineup includes the BJ20, BJ40 and BJ80 and their variants, retailing from 150,000 yuan to 350,000 yuan ($21,830 to $50,936).