BMW planning $261 million plant in Brazil

From AB










BMW Group plans plant in Brazil

Start of production scheduled for 2014

Planned capacity of approx. 30,000 units per year

Planned investment of more than 200 million euros

Munich/Brasilia - October 22, 2012... 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.