(Yicai) Feb. 6 -- The China units of German auto giants Mercedes-Benz and BMW received the go-ahead from Chinese regulators to jointly establish a venture to run a fast-charging network for electric vehicles.

The State Administration for Market Regulation approved the 50-50 JV between Mercedes-Benz Group China and BMW Brilliance Automotive, the regulator's website showed yesterday. The European Commission approved it on Jan. 24.

The partners plan to build at least 1,000 fast-charging stations with advanced technology and around 7,000 supercharging piles in China by the end of 2026, they said on Nov. 30. The first batch is scheduled to become operational in key EV cities this year, with other cities and regions to follow, the pair added.

Faced with the growing market share of new energy vehicles in the Chinese market, traditional luxury auto brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi are speeding up the pace of their electrification, according to analysts.

BMW sold 330,600 pure EVs globally last year, including 100,000 units in China. Such sales at Mercedes-Benz reached 222,600, while its annual deliveries in the country more than doubled, growing faster than its global average. 

BMW's deliveries in China climbed 4.2 percent to 825,000 last year, accounting for 32 percent of its total, while that of Mercedes-Benz rose 2.7 percent to 765,000, or 36 percent of its total.

Editor: Martin Kadiev