(Yicai) Jan. 19 -- Beijing Hyundai Motor, a Chinese joint venture of South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor and Chinese peer BAIC Motor, sold its factory in Chongqing at an 80 percent discount.

A unit of state-owned firm Chongqing Liangjiang New Area Development and Investment Group purchased Beijing Hyundai's plant in Chongqing's Jiangbei district for CNY1.6 billion (USD222.4 million), the Korean company announced on Jan. 17.

The Chongqing factory, Beijing Hyundai's fifth, broke ground in 2015 and became operational in 2017, with the company investing CNY7.7 billion. It has an annual production capacity of 300,000 units.

Due to idle production capacity amid a slide in sales, the Chongqing plant shut down in February 2022, Yicai learned. Beijing Hyundai put the plant up for sale last August for at least CNY3.7 billion, but no buyer came forward.

Beijing Hyundai was once one of China's most successful carmaking JVs. Its sales shrunk to 257,000 units last year from the peak of 1.1 million units in 2014.

Faced with low sales and overcapacity, Beijing Hyundai aims to get out of the predicament by scaling down output and accelerating its transformation. The JV plans to fully upgrade its fuel vehicles to hybrids by next year and launch new hybrid and electric cars. It aims to sell 500,000 units next year.

Beijing Hyundai sold its first plant, located in Beijing's Shunyi district, to Chinese new energy vehicle startup Li Auto in 2021 to ease overcapacity pressures. After selling the Chongqing plant, its capacity utilization rate will remain under 30 percent.

Hyundai will close one more plant and sell two others in China, Chief Executive Officer Jaehoon Chang said last June. But he did not disclose which other plant the carmaker would sell.

Besides cutting capacity, Hyundai will also reduce its product lineup in China to eight models from 13, and focus on sports utility vehicles and its luxury brand Genesis, Chang noted.

Editor: Futura Costaglione