Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Sales and
Marketing BMW (right)
Munich/Brasilia - The
BMW Group plans to build a new plant in Brazil. “We welcome the new
framework for investments in Brazil, based on the recently adopted
“Inovar Auto” legislation. We have submitted an investment proposal for
our planned new plant to the Brazilian Government,” said Ian Robertson,
Member of the Board of Management, responsible for Sales and Marketing
BMW, at a meeting with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in the
capital, Brasilia, on Monday.
Subject to final approval of the plans by the Brazilian Government, the
goal is for production to begin in 2014. Investments over the next few
years will total more than 200 million euros. Plans call for a
production capacity of approximately 30,000 vehicles per year. More than
1,000 new jobs will be created at the new production site – as well as
additional jobs within the supplier network as a result of the new
plant. Negotiations with the State Government of Santa Catarina are
already well underway for the new facility in the Joinville region.
“Brazil is a market with tremendous
potential for the future for the BMW Group. For that reason, we are
strengthening our long-term commitment to this country,” Robertson
explained. “This will create the necessary conditions for us to maintain
the balance of sales between Europe, Asia and the Americas – and,
therefore, for the long-term success of our company. With this move, the
BMW Group is applying its strategic principle of ‘production follows the
market’, which has already proved successful in markets such as the
U.S., China and India.”
The new plant in Brazil will extend the
BMW Group’s production network which currently comprises 29 production
and assembly facilities in 14 countries. The company has been
manufacturing BMW motorcycles at its Manaus location since 2010.
The BMW Group has had a local sales
company in Brazil since 1995. A total of 15,214 vehicles were sold in
Brazil in 2011. This represents a growth rate of almost 54%. BMW
Motorrad also increased its sales by 55% in 2011 to reach a total of
5,442 motorcycles.
