BMW is pushing hard on electrification and aims to transition half of all its global vehicle production to full battery electric by 2030. This impacts Group manufacturing facilities around the world, including Europe, China and North America. In early 2023 the automaker announced plans to invest €800m (US$859m) to build electric vehicles (EVs) and assemble high-voltage batteries at its San Luis Potosi plant in Mexico.
San Luis Potosi has been turning out BMW models since 2019, starting with the 3 Series. In 2020 it added plug-in hybrid variants, thereby dipping its toes into electrification. The plant introduced production of the 2 Series in 2021, followed by the M2. The first all-electric models, which will be based on the Neue Klasse EV architecture, should start rolling off the line in 2027.
The plant was designed from the start to be highly flexible. That flexibility will be put to the test with the addition of this upcoming electrified range. Harald Gottsche, President and Chief Executive of the San Luis Potosi facility, speaks to Automotive World about the significance of this new production investment and its implications for Mexico’s wider prospects of becoming an EV production hub.
