One of the more ambitious players in the Chinese automobile market is Brilliance China Automobiles. They manufacture sedans and minibuses, mostly. Brilliance is based in Shenyang, Liaoning. The Brilliance story began in the year 2003, when they signed a deal to start making sedans in China with the BMW company.

Now, Brilliance has emerged as one of China’s leading car companies, thanks to their innovative assortment of joint ventures, subsidiaries, and associated groups. Some of Brilliance’s most popular brand names include Granse, Zhonghua, and JinBei. But it was their decision to start making three and five series BMW sedans in the country that really sealed Brilliance’s fate as one of the country’s most popular car makers.

In addition to their manufacturing of automobiles, Brilliance is also engaged in making car parts. They are responsible for gasoline engines, strips, axles, window moldings, stamped parts, and many more key car components.

In China, Brilliance tends to sell more minibuses than Sedans. In the year 2004, they sold over 60,000. Their total sales of sedans, both of their own make and BMW’s, numbered slightly over 19,000 during that year.

Observers in the Chinese car industry associate Brilliance’s success with their key network of minibus distributors throughout the country. The last time we checked, they had slightly over forty distributors for their new BMW sedans.

Brilliance China Automobiles makes several hundred thousand sedans and minibuses each year. Since their foundation, they have formed strategic partnerships with a number of associated industry players; besides BMW, these include Porsche, Mitsubishi, Toyota, and others. Brilliance China Automobiles also provides employment for some nine thousand individuals in the Liaoning area.