BMW reviewing UK plant options amid trade threats

Bloomberg

BMW AG said it’s reviewing its factories in the UK ahead of Brexit and that it has the flexibility to move production elsewhere if necessary.
The Munich-based manufacturer, which makes vehicles for its Mini brand in Oxford, Rolls-Royces in Goodwood and engines in Hams Hall, is preparing for “different scenarios” once the UK leaves the European Union, BMW Chief Executive Officer Harald Krueger said in remarks prepared for the annual press conference in Munich.
“Our production network offers us flexibility,” Krueger said, noting that Minis are also built at a plant in the Netherlands. That said, “the UK remains an important location for us. Much will depend on how Brexit is ultimately negotiated.”
Carmakers are concerned that the UK’s exit from the EU may lead to costly trade barriers, hampering the free movement of components and vehicles between production sites and end consumers across Europe. Production of the Mini could move to BMW’s plant in Born, Netherlands, or to Leipzig, Germany, where 1-Series compact autos are rolled out based on a similar platform.
BMW’s comment on Brexit comes as the German carmaker’s overseas operations become increasingly vulnerable to a possible clampdown on free trade. US President Donald Trump criticized BMW for planning to make cars at a $1 billion factory it’s building in central Mexico,
and threatened the automaker with a 35 percent duty on autos it imports to the US.
Despite these threats, BMW is pushing ahead with plans to roll out 3-Series models at the San Luis Potosi plant starting in 2019, Chief Financial Officer Nicolas Peter said at the press conference. Construction at the site is “proceeding according to plan,” he said.
Krueger was among the German business leaders who accompanied Chancellor Angela Merkel during her first encounter with Trump at the White House last week. During the meeting, Trump reprised his complaints that the US had been treated “very, very unfairly” by its German trade partners and poured loaded praise over European officials for besting their American counterparts.