BMW could be set to become only the second luxury automaker with a modern assembly plant in Brazil, should it finalize plans for another factory in the rapidly-developing country.
“For us, it is really about the significance and prominence of the market, since we believe it has a big future. The development of Brazil over the past ten years is impressive,” BMW production chief Frank-Peter Arndt told Reuters in Germany.
Currently, BMW only operates one assembly plant in the Western Hemisphere – its Spartanburg, South Carolina, SUV and crossover plant. Volkswagen and Fiat are the largest European brands in Brazil; high-end European marques have never been major players in South America, although Alfa Romeo once built cars in Argentina.
Mercedes-Benz opened a plant in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, about 15 years ago, but no other luxury brand has followed its lead. BMW sold around 10,000 cars in Brazil last year, but it says that a local production facility would help it better master the market, which grew 11 percent last year.
As Brazil quickly develops into a first world nation, its increasingly wealthy population has a far higher spending power than before. In 2010, the Brazilian new car market was larger than Germany’s for the first time ever.
References
1.’BMW eyes first…’ view
