Munich. The BMW Group continues to expand its
production network in Europe, with a new facility to be built in
Hungary, close to the town of Debrecen. It will come at an investment
of approximately €1 billion, offer capacity of up to 150,000 units a
year and create over 1,000 new jobs.
“The BMW Group’s decision to build this new plant reaffirms our
perspective for global growth. After significant investments in China,
Mexico and the USA, we are now strengthening our activities in Europe
to maintain a worldwide balance of production between Asia, America
and our home continent,” said Harald Krüger, Chairman of the BMW AG
Board of Management. “Europe is the BMW Group’s largest production
location. In 2018 alone we are investing more than €1 billion in our
German sites to upgrade and prepare them for electric mobility.”
Oliver Zipse, BMW AG Board Member for Production, added: “In the
future, every BMW Group plant in Europe will be equipped to produce
electrified as well as conventional vehicles. Our new plant in Hungary
will also be able to manufacture both combustion and electrified BMW
models – all on a single production line. It will bring greater
capacity to our worldwide production network. When production
commences, the plant will set new standards in flexibility,
digitalisation and productivity.”
Europe is the most important market for the BMW Group. In 2017 it
accounted for almost 45 percent of all vehicle sales, with 1.1 million
units sold. Up to the end of June 2018, the BMW Group grew in many
markets across the continent, with vehicle deliveries totalling more
than 560,000 units – a year-on-year rise of 1.2 percent.
The latest decision to develop the production network follows the BMW
Group’s strategic principle of balanced global growth and represents
the next logical step in the implementation of BMW Group Strategy
NUMBER ONE NEXT.
Competitive production site in Europe
Debrecen is the ideal place for the BMW Group to expand its
production network. It was chosen primarily for its very good
infrastructure, suitable logistics connections and proximity to the
established supplier network. The qualified personnel in the local
area were another key advantage. Besides the team at the plant itself,
numerous jobs will be created with suppliers and service providers,
both within the grounds of the new facility and across the local region.
The BMW Group has been operating a representative office in Hungary
since 2004 and enjoys long-standing, positive relations with suppliers
in the country. Last year materials and services worth €1.4 billion
were purchased in Hungary.
The plant in Debrecen will set new standards in digitalisation,
sustainability and flexibility. In addition, it will be a technology
leader, with innovative solutions for automation, state-of-the-art
assistance systems and flexible logistics applications. In keeping
with the BMW Group’s principle of the highly flexible production
system, the new facility will manufacture conventionally as well as
electrically powered vehicles, all on a single production line.
Note:
More information about the plant is available now at https://www.bmwgroup-plants.com/debrecen/en.html
(English) and https://www.bmwgroup-plants.com/debrecen/hu.html
(Hungarian). The website offers details of contacts in Purchasing and
information on submitting job applications.