New BMW Group plant to be built in the region Leipzig/Halle

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News of July 25, 2001

New BMW Group plant to be built in the region Leipzig/Halle

BMW market and product offensive requires additional capacity. 'BMW Formula for Work' will increase productivity

BMW 3 series

Photo: BMW

Munich, Germany -. The BMW Group took the decision to build the new BMW plant in the region Leipzig/Halle. The location is within sight of the Leipzig Trade Fair. The area is about 200 hectares in size and has first-class connections to the motorway, the airport and the railway system.

Approximately 10,000 new jobs will be created at the new location in the medium term - about 5,500 thereof at the new plant of the BMW Group and approximately the same number again in the surrounding area. Production will start in the year 2005. Following a ramp-up phase, a capacity of 650 units a day will be reached. It is planned to build the BMW 3 Series at the new plant, which will involve an investment of roughly Euro 1 billion.

The new plant is needed because the BMW Group has launched a market and product offensive. In this connection, plans include the BMW 1 series, the expansion of the BMW X-family and the BMW 6 series. The construction of a new factory is also essential because of the continued positive development in sales of BMW automobiles.

In all, more than 250 locations proposed in both Germany and abroad had to be examined. The last five locations given close consideration - Augsburg, Leipzig/Halle, Schwerin, Arras in France and Kolin in the Czech Republic - all fulfilled all the necessary criteria for building the new plant.

The most important criteria to be considered were as follows:

The economic viability and flexibility.
The features and the location of the future plant area.
The availability of qualified manpower.
The use of existing structures in terms of plants, suppliers and logistics.
The infrastructure for transport, supplies and waste management.
The connection to the sales and distribution network.
The process of implementation.

Considering the figures alone - above all the level of wages at the plant, foreign locations outside of Germany offered certain advantages.

Taking into account the need for flexibility - and here this means flexibility of job structures and the integration of the plant into the BMW Plant Network, process management extending from planning all the way to the start of full production, as well as designated grants, mere cost considerations had to be put into a different perspective.

In the assessment in terms of the corporate interests, therefore, the decision was ultimately taken in favour of Leipzig/Halle This is the location with the best perspectives for the purposes of the BMW Group.

Integration into the plant network of the BMW Group

The integration of the new plant within the existing BMW Plant Network is very important. The essential point is to ensure that all the plants are able to operate at the same consistent and high level of capacity. This guarantees maximum efficiency and profitability, as it has been have proven time and again at the existing locations.

Another factor closely interacting with this consideration is the integration of the suppliers. In Leipzig/Halle it is possible to largely resort to the existing supplier structure throughout the south of Germany. In all, this will allow a rapid ramp-up of production and optimum calculation of the entire ramp-up process to achieve a highly competitive productivity level.

(July 18, 2001)

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