BERLIN, (Reuters) – Germany’s BMW will produce its X5 premium mid-size car – manufactured currently in the United States – at home in China. A spokesperson from BMW said Monday.

To meet strong global demand for the BMW X5, our global production capacities will be increased. “We will add localized production to the BMW X5 China market,” the spokesperson stated, but did not provide a time frame.

The X5 cars that have been sold in China are currently being produced by BMW at the Spartanburg, South Carolina plant. The statement stated that South Carolina’s production volume will not be affected by any additional production from China.

Handelsblatt had reported Monday morning that BMW would begin producing the X5 in China starting from 2022.

In China, BMW sold only under 700,000 vehicles between January and September. This was almost 20% more than the previous year. The China sales represent around a third all of Europe’s, Asia’s, and Americas car sales.

Nicolas Peter, finance chief, said that in September he believed sales would rise next year.

This move is similar to the 2018 BMW decision to make 10,000-20,000 X5 SUVs for Chinese buyers in Thailand, following China’s imposition of a 40% tariff on US imports.