Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd, the domestic partner of BMW AG, will expand exports of its self-branded models to the European markets this year.

The Shenyang company plans to export 3000 units of its mid-class Zhonghua sedan after signing agreements with Germany's HSO Co Ltd on Thursday, according to a statement from the company yesterday.

HSO said it was confident it could attract more than 50,000 European customers in the following several years and help Brilliance carry out an overseas developing strategy with stronger brand awareness.

The move comes after Brilliance broke into more than 23 overseas markets with 33 dealers in Africa, South and North America as well as Middle Eastern regions.

Brilliance exported 3,724 units for the first six months this year, an increase of 95 percent. It generated US$50 million in sales revenue through exports, up 107 percent year on year, the company said.

Chinese carmakers are exporting more models because their high-quality models are price competitive with models made by international giants due to inexpensive labor costs in China.

The company, which lost money on the Chinese market over the past two years, has reported a narrowed profit loss for the first half of this year.

Half-year net losses were recorded at 113.6 million yuan (US$14 million), compared with nearly 300 million yuan from the same period last year, according to a statement filed to the Hong Kong stock market last Friday.

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