BAIC Chairman Sees Swing to Profit in 2019 on Brands Like Senova

(Bloomberg) -- BAIC Motor Corp. will probably make a profit on sales of its own brands such as Senova cars next year after significantly reducing losses this year, Chairman Xu Heyi said in an interview Saturday on the sidelines of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing.

Such a reversal of fortunes for the Beijing-based automaker's money-losing Senova marque would add to the profit it already makes on the foreign brands that it jointly produces under partnership agreements.

Xu added that BAIC is selecting a site for a second manufacturing base in the Middle East while exploring the feasibility of a facility in Central Asia. BAIC also is talking to Panasonic Corp. about increasing cooperation on batteries and intelligent manufacturing, Xu said.

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BAIC and Daimler AG are planning to build a $1.9 billion factory in China for Mercedes-Benz vehicles to meet growing demand as the German automaker increases ties with the country.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Tian Ying in Beijing at ytian@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ken Wills at kwills3@bloomberg.net, Jeff Kearns, James Amott

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With assistance from Tian Ying