By Karla Sanchez
June 26, 2014
BMW has been thinking about building a new factory in North America, and if it does decide to take that route, future German cars could come from south of the border. Automotive News reports BMW is eyeing two locations in Mexico to as potential sites for a new factory.
Although a concrete decision hasn't been made yet, reports suggest that the Mexican facility could build 3 Series and 1 Series models, and possibly even some Minis. The German automaker has been vocal about increasing production to better compete with rivals such as Mercedes-Benz and Audi, and another North American plant could help support BMW's Spartanburg plant located in South Carolina. That plant is currently undergoing expansion as part of a $1 billion investment, as the company revealed is plans on raising capacity there to 50 percent by 2016. The expansion would allow the plant, which currently builds SUVs, to produce 450,000 vehicles a year,which will include the upcoming X7. In addition to increasing production, BMW is also looking to manufacture more cars in North America as a result of the fluctuating dollar-euro exchange rate. As it is, most BMW-badged cars already come from the company's biggest factory in Munich, which currently produces 3, 5, 6, and 7 Series models.
However, when completed, the Spartanburg factory will not only become the automaker's largest facility, but also the largest facility in the world. Several automakers have set up shop in Mexico for the same reason BMW is considering a move south. Audi is currently constructing a $1.3 billion factory in San Jose Chiapa, Mexico, which is scheduled to begin building the Q5 in 2016. Volkswagen also builds several Beetles for the North American market in Mexico, while Nissan, Honda, and Mazda have also made a home for their factories there. BMW is expected to announce its decision before the summer break.
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