BMW’s new South American automobile plant in Araquari, Brazil has assembled its first car, a BMW 328i ActiveFlex that can run on either ethanol or petrol.
Over the next few years, BMW will invest more than €200 million in the plant, which is scheduled to have an annual production capacity of more than 30,000 vehicles. The plant is scheduled to produce a diverse range of models including the BMW 1-Series 5-door model, BMW 3-Series Sedan, BMW X1, BMW X3 and MINI Countryman.
The new plant will create around 1,300 new jobs, 500 of which are already on board. Further jobs will be created within the supplier network of the new plant. BMW says all construction on the production site is due to be completed by September 2015, when the site will include also a body shop and a paint shop. The facility will also have administrative and auxiliary infrastructure as well as logistic activities.
Located in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, the new plant covers an area of about 1.5 million square meters of which 500,000 paved square meters will be used for production. The new facility in Brazil expands BMW’s global production network, which now includes 30 production and assembly sites in 14 countries on four continents.
“Our strategic principle of ‘production follows the market’ has previously proven effective in countries such as the US and China and will also ensure our success in Brazil, an important future market,” said Harald Krüger, Member of the Management Board of BMW AG responsible for production.
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