Photo: Ariana Lindquist/Bloomberg
After opening the Spartanburg plant in 1994, BMW is now considering to open a new facility somewhere on the North American continent to start building engines alongside the models that are already being assembled in the US.
Bloomberg quotes anonymous sources close to BMW management claiming that the Germans are currently pondering whether the USA or Mexico would be the best choice for such plans and which would offer the best advantages.
If these rumors turn out to be true, it would be the first time BMW takes engine-making outside Europe, excluding the Chinese facility that is currently assembling only 2-liter turbocharged engines for the Asian market (mainly China). If a move to the Americas will be made, it’s unlikely that it will be for only one engine.
“Engine technology is BMW’s core competence,” Juergen Pieper, a Frankfurt-based analyst at Bankhaus Metzler, said by phone. “Establishing local motor manufacturing abroad is more complex than assembling cars, but it’s a logical step for them to eventually start making engines in markets where they’re expanding vehicle production,” to reduce the cost of logistics and mitigate currency effects.
However, the whole thing could prove troublesome if anything goes wrong. After all the criticism BMW received lately for its heavy cars that are too slow and less cerebral compared to what the customers were used to, the brilliant powertrains were always the thing they could fall back on, nobody ever questioning them. Now, these might start failing too, leaving the company wide open for criticism.
If these rumors turn out to be true, it would be the first time BMW takes engine-making outside Europe, excluding the Chinese facility that is currently assembling only 2-liter turbocharged engines for the Asian market (mainly China). If a move to the Americas will be made, it’s unlikely that it will be for only one engine.
“Engine technology is BMW’s core competence,” Juergen Pieper, a Frankfurt-based analyst at Bankhaus Metzler, said by phone. “Establishing local motor manufacturing abroad is more complex than assembling cars, but it’s a logical step for them to eventually start making engines in markets where they’re expanding vehicle production,” to reduce the cost of logistics and mitigate currency effects.
However, the whole thing could prove troublesome if anything goes wrong. After all the criticism BMW received lately for its heavy cars that are too slow and less cerebral compared to what the customers were used to, the brilliant powertrains were always the thing they could fall back on, nobody ever questioning them. Now, these might start failing too, leaving the company wide open for criticism.
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