BY CHRISTOPH RAUWALD
Bloomberg News
FRANKFURT, Germany – BMW, the world’s biggest maker of luxury vehicles, is progressing with plans for a second North American factory to meet increased demand for its vehicles in the region.
“We will decide this in the next months,” Harald Krueger, BMW’s production chief, said in an interview in an internal publication for staff obtained by Bloomberg News. “On the North American continent, there’s still potential.”
BMW has been narrowing the list of locations, with at least two sites in Mexico still being considered, people familiar with the matter said.
Already Audi, which doesn’t yet produce vehicles in the region, is constructing a $1.3 billion factory in San José Chiapa, Puebla, that’s scheduled to begin building the Q5 SUV in 2016.
BMW, the Munich-based carmaker, is weighing building its bestselling 3-Series at the new North American plant, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal deliberations.
Chief Executive Officer Norbert Reithofer said last month that BMW will need an additional factory in the region “at some point” as part of an expansion to fend off Volkswagen’s Audi and Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz. BMW announced plans March 28 to spend $1 billion expanding its South Carolina plant, which will become its largest facility worldwide.
“As part of our long-term growth strategy we’re frequently looking at different countries for possible locations for future production facilities,” Mathias Schmidt, a BMW spokesman, said by phone. “No decisions have been made yet, though, for a new plant in North America.”
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