Chairman & president of Brilliance Automotive, Mr. Qi Yumin, said some interesting things to journalists during a recent conference, confirming older reports in the process.

The production version of the Brilliance Greater China sedan will be based on the platform of the last-gen BMW 5Li that was made in China by the Brilliance-BMW joint venture. The joint venture changed to the new 5Li last year and leaving a platform unused is unheard of in China.

Last-gen Brilliance-BMW 5Li.

The Greater China will be called ‘Brilliance H7’ when it hits the market in 2014, competing nicely with the Hongqi H7 sedan that will be launched later this year. The Brilliance Greater China II concept debuted in April on the Beijing Auto Show. By the time Brilliance said it would hit the market in 2013 but Chinese media report today its launch has been delayed with a year.

What exactly will power the Greater China / H7 is yet unclear. They could use old BMW engines but Brilliance is also perfectly capable of developing their own power plants. Price is uncertain as well but earlier report indicate a start from about 180.000 yuan. Not too much for a BMW-based car, when new the last-gen 5Li started around 250.000 yuan.

Via: 163.com.