BMW announced that they will be expanding their German based auto company yet again with the introduction of the first Latin American plant in Brazil.
The world's largest automaker in luxury cars will invest $264 million into the new Santa Catarina plant according to BMW Group sales and marketing Chief Ian Robertson in a press release.
"Brazil is a market with tremendous potential for the future," Robertson said in a press statement. "The new plant will create the necessary conditions for us to maintain the balance of sales between Europe, Asia and the Americas."
Construction for the plant will begin in April 2013 and BMW hopes to have the plant up and running by early 2014 according to Bloomberg Businessweek. The plant is being constructed to help boost sales in Brazil and to compete with the company's closest competitor Volkswagen.
The plant was first discussed in March of 2011 but was held up due to tax changes on imported vehicles the company announced. The plant is expected to create at least 1,000 new jobs.
"The investment plan has been aligned with new automobile industry incentives and is the result of difficult work with Brazilian authorities during the last six months," Robertson said to Bloomberg Businessweek. "The goal is to reach 30,000 cars and to keep growing. If there is more demand, then there will be more production."
The plant will only be responsible for producing 30,000 BMW X1 cars the first year, but the type of cars and the number of cars produced could change based on what the overall demand is like. The BMW X1 will be officially recognized as the first BMW car to ever be produced in Brazil.
BMW sells an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 luxury cars in Brazil yearly. Brazil's car market is the fourth largest in the world, surpassed only by China, the United States and Japan according to Industry Week.
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