Report: BMW to develop 5 Series-based electric sedan for Chinese market

The Chinese news outlet Beijing Youth Daily (how's that for a name?) reports that BMW, along with joint venture partner Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd., will develop a 5 Series-based electric sedan targeted specifically at the Chinese market. Furthermore, the report claims that a battery-powered 5 Series concept will make its debut in China sometime in 2011. If true, then we suspect that BMW will unveil its electric sedan at the Shanghai Motor Show in April.

BMW Brilliance Automotive Co., the joint venture between BMW and Brilliance, currently manufacturers both the 3 Series and 5 Series sedans in the Chinese city of Shenyang. In 2010, the BMW Group sold 169,000 vehicles in China, a surge of 87 percent over the sales it tallied in that nation in 2009. The German automaker is not offering up any comments on the vehicle's status at this time.

Photos copyright ©2010 Michael Harley / AOL

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]