History of BMW - Production Outside Germany

Production Outside Germany

BMW's Rosslyn, South Africa, plant was the first BMW assembly line established outside Germany, with production starting in 1973. The wholly owned subsidiary now exports over 70% of its output. In the mid-1990s, BMW invested R1bn to upgrade the Rosslyn factory. The plant now exports over 50,000 3 Series cars a year, mostly to the USA, Japan, Australia, Africa and the Middle East.

BMW started producing automobiles at its Spartanburg, South Carolina, plant in 1994. Today, the plant manufactures the BMW X5 and the BMW X6. The production of the BMW X3 will be moving to Spartanburg from Europe after the completion of a major expansion of the U.S. facility.

The Spartanburg plant is open six days a week, producing automobiles approximately 110 hours a week. It employs about 4,700 people and manufactures over 600 vehicles daily. Recently, the plant has undergone a major renovation switching from 2 production lines down to one. Both the X5 and the X6 are produced in the same line, one right after the other.

Outside Germany, the largest output of the BMW Group comes from British factories. The Hams Hall plant manufactures four-cylinder BMW engines for use around the world in 3-Series, 1-Series and Z4 vehicles. This is in addition to MINIs and Rolls-Royces made in Oxford and Goodwood.

BMW signed agreement in 1999 with Avtotor to produce cars in Kaliningrad, Russia. Factory has been assembling 3 and 5 -series cars.

Starting from October 2004, BMWs intended for the Chinese market are produced in Shenyang, China. BMW has established a joint venture with Chinese manufacturer Brilliance to build BMW 3 Series and 5 Series that have been modified for the needs of local markets.

The BMW X3 was manufactured in Graz, Austria between 2004 and 2007 by Magna Steyr with mainly German components. The X3 production will be moved to the Spartanburg plant due in part to high production and transportation costs of what was meant to be the "more affordable" SUV. North American pricing, after said costs, were nearly on par with the larger, American-built X5.

In 2005, BMW Group built a new manufacturing facility in Egypt. This plant builds 3 Series, 5 Series, 7 Series, and X3 vehicles for the African and Middle East markets.

BMW opened its first assembly plant in Chennai, India in March 2007 to assemble 3-series and 5-series vehicles. The 20 Million Euro plant aims to produce 1,700 cars per year in the medium term, though this could rise to up to 10,000 cars if demand grows. The new factory may also be used to help boost the production of BMW’s super-successful MINI. BMW India headquarters is located in Gurgaon outside Delhi.