BMW has confirmed plans to build a factory in southern Brazil. Subject to final approval by the Brazilian government, production should begin in 2014, giving rise to 1,000 new jobs at the site. Production capacity will be approximately 30,000 vehicles a year and total investment over the next few years will exceed €200 million (RM800 million).
Negotiations with the Santa Catarina state government are already underway for the facility’s location in the city of Joinville.
“We welcome the new framework for investments in Brazil, based on the recently adopted ‘Inovar Auto’ legislation,” said BMW vice president and sales director Ian Robertson at a meeting with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia.
“Brazil is a market with tremendous potential. 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 US, China and India.”
15,214 BMW vehicles were sold in Brazil last year, representing a growth rate of almost 54%. BMW Motorrad sales were also up by 55% in 2011 to reach a total of 5,442 motorcycles.
Brazil’s car market is the fourth largest in the world, surpassed only by those of China, the US and Japan. It is also one of the fastest-growing car markets.
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BMW sold 5,442 motorcycles there in 2011? That’s a lot, even in a big country like Brazil.