BMW has reached a deal to sell the rights to the Rover brand.
However, the identity of the buyer remains a mystery.
"A binding agreement was made," a spokesman for BMW said, confirming a report in German financial daily Handelsblatt.
BMW licensed the Rover brand to British investors in 2001 as part of a deal to dispose of MG Rover, while selling the Land Rover brand to Ford.
The Munich-based car maker kept the Mini brand and builds the popular subcompact at its Oxford plant in Britain.
Outgoing Chief Executive Helmut Panke had said in mid-March that the group was in talks with several Chinese car makers to sell the Rover rights, but he said any decision would require the approval of Ford.
Nanjing Automobile, which acquired MG Rover assets and the sportscar brand MG last year during bankruptcy administration for MG Rover, and Shanghai Automotive (SAIC) are considered to be the main candidates.
SAIC owns the design rights to two Rover models including the BMW-designed and engineered Rover 75.