Canada's Magna partners with BAIC to make electric cars in China

Canadian auto parts giant Magna International said on Monday it would set up two joint ventures with Beijing Electric Vehicle Co. to build electric cars in China.

The ventures are expected to take over an existing manufacturing plant in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, owned by the BAIC Group, the parent of Beijing Electric Vehicle Co.

Magna and Beijing Electric said they will also make cars for other customers at the plant.

The first vehicles are planned for 2020 and the companies said the Zhenjiang plant will have the capacity to build up to 180,000 vehicles per year.

Magna's announcement comes as China tries to engineer a dramatic shift away from conventional gasoline cars with subsidies and strict production quotas for electric and plug-in electric hybrid vehicles.

BAIC and Magna in April had announced that they would jointly develop electric vehicles for the Chinese market.

Magna is more than an auto parts supplier. Its Magna Steyr division has extensive experience building vehicles and currently produces BMW 5 Series cars, the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, and Jaguar E-Pace and I-Pace. Its plant in Graz, Austria, can produce 200,000 vehicles a year.