BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motor Company Limited announced Tuesday a joint venture (JV) with BMW, with each side holding a 50 percent stake in the new company of new energy automobiles.

Named "Spotlight Automotive," the JV has registered capital of 1.7 billion yuan (256.6 million U.S. dollars), with Great Wall and BMW Holding each contributing 850 million yuan, Great Wall Motor Company Limited said in a notice.

Total investment is 5.1 billion yuan, with the remainder covered by the JV itself through other channels.

The new company is registered in Zhangjiagang, east China's Jiangsu Province, and will be involved in research, development and manufacture of new energy vehicles.

The standard annual production capacity of the JV Company is estimated to be 160,000 vehicles. The annual production scale may be increased depending on the JV Company's production planning, according to the notice.

BMW Holding B.V. is BMW AG's wholly-owned subsidiary, registered in the Netherlands.