BMW to open new factory in Hungary

The €1 billion plant will have an annual manufacturing capacity of up to 1,50,000 units; would also be compatible with the production of electric cars.

Published On Aug 05, 2018 06:00:00 AM

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The BMW Group has announced a new €1 billion plant in Debrecen, Hungary, to expand its European operations. The factory will have an annual production capacity of 1,50,000 units and will produce BMW-badged cars.

The factory will employ over 1,000 people and take the total number of the brand’s plants to 18, with 13 of those in Europe. This makes sense, given that Europe takes nearly half of all BMW Group sales.

It’s not yet been announced which models will be produced at the plant, but, given that BMW has factories in the US and Asia, it’s likely that the plant will cater to European demand.

BMW Group boss Harald Krüger said: “The BMW Group’s decision to build this new plant reaffirms our perspective for global growth. After significant investments in China, Mexico and the US, we're now strengthening our activities in Europe to maintain a worldwide balance of production between Asia, America and our home continent. Europe is the BMW Group’s largest production location. In 2018 alone, we're investing more than €1 billion in our German sites to upgrade and prepare them for electric mobility.”

The Hungarian plant will be future-proofed by being compatible with production of electrified cars as well as conventional models, said BMW production boss, Oliver Zipse.

It hasn't yet been announced when the first cars are expected to roll out of the plant.

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