BMW'S China joint venture yesterday introduced its first domestic brand, Zinoro, joining other foreign automa-kers in launching local models to grab a market share.

The first Zinoro-branded model will be a pure electric car, which will be unveiled at the Guangzhou auto show later this year and hit the market next year, BMW Brilliance Automotive said. Zinoro cars will be developed and manufactured at the company's new Tiexi plant in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, which opened last year.

The launch is another move by BMW to hasten its localization effort.