Auto supplier Magna is teaming up with Beijing Electric Vehicle Co (BJEV) – a subsidiary of China’s BAIC – to design and build electric vehicles in China, with the first vehicles due from 2020.

The Zhenjiang facility where Magna and BJEV plan to engineer and build EVs for the Chinese market

It marks the first time Magna will manufacture cars outside its facility in Graz, Austria, and will target the growing market for EVs in China.

The firms’ two joint ventures will include the manufacture of EVs at an existing BAIC manufacturing facility in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province. The first production vehicles are scheduled for 2020, with capacity of to 180,000 vehicles per year, and are expected to be built on a jointly developed open platform for the local market announced by the two firms earlier this spring.

The firms will also offer engineering and vehicle manufacturing to other customers, based on this platform.

“From a strategic point of view, the establishment of the JVs will benefit both Magna and BAIC to further strengthen our business growth in China”, Xu Heyi, chairman of BAIC Group, said. “Based on an open and sharing platform, we will jointly develop and manufacture premium smart electric vehicles, bringing the clean energy vehicle industry to the next level.”

The joint ventures are dependent on the firms’ agreement on final joint venture agreements and regulatory approvals.