BMW considering North American engine plant?
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/sports/" rel="tag">Performance</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/plants-manufacturing/" rel="tag">Plants/Manufacturing</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/bmw/" rel="tag">BMW</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/luxury/" rel="tag">Luxury</a></p><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-11/bmw-said-to-weigh-setting-up-north-american-engine-plant.html"><img alt="Germany BMW Sales" data-caption="** FILE ** In this July 4, 2008 file photo the engine of a BMW 750Li car is seen through a fish-eye lens, during the media presentation of the new BMW 7 series in Munich, southern Germany. German car maker BMW AG said Monday, July 7, 2008 the company's global sales were down 2.8 percent in the month of June as it was faced with " data-credit="Uwe Lein / AP" data-mep="53669" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/GLOB/crop/3934x2640+23+10/resize/628x417!/format/jpg/quality/85/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/adam/77864ce8be70cb9926fd80ad8 b6754b2/f0a42884e2954e70b7d9afe80 5fe9170.jpeg" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/bmw">BMW</a> may be set to expand its US operations with a new engine plant, <em><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-11/bmw-said-to-weigh-setting-up-north-american-engine-plant.html">Bloomberg reports</a>.</em> The Bavarian automaker already has its Spartanburg, SC factory which builds the company's <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/bmw/x3/">X3</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/bmw/x5/">X5</a> and <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/bmw/x6/">X6</a> crossovers. According to the story, Mexico is also under consideration for the BMW engine factory, with the report claiming a final decision will be made in 2014.<br />
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"Establishing local motor manufacturing abroad is more complex than assembling cars, but it's a logical step for them to eventually start making engines in markets where they're expanding vehicle production," Juergen Pieper, an analyst for Bankhaus Metzler tells <em>Bloomberg</em>. Building engines in the US or Mexico would save BMW from having to ship engines for some of its most popular models across the Atlantic.<br />
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BMW, for its part, hasn't said anything concrete. Spokesman Mathias Schmidt is quoted in the story saying, "As part of our long-term growth strategy, we're frequently looking at different countries for possible locations of future production facilities. No decisions have been made yet, though, for an additional plant."<br />
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What do you think, is this a good idea, or would having a non-German powerplant in its new models remove some of the company's mystique? Have your say in Comments.<p style="padding:5px;backgr ound:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2013/12/13/bmw-considering-north-american-engine-plant/">BMW considering North American engine plant?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblo g</a> on Fri, 13 Dec 2013 11:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="/rss-term-of-use/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2013/12/13/bmw-considering-north-american-engine-plant/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/20787264/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2013/12/13/bmw-considering-north-american-engine-plant/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

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