BMW is considering second U.S. manufacturing plant

BMW is thinking about a second U.S. manufacturing plant that could produce engines and transmissions, CEO Harald Krueger stated on Tuesday, shortly after a report that U.S. President Donald Trump would enforce tariffs on imported cars from upcoming week.

Krueger in an interview at the Los Angeles Auto Show also stated he backed British Prime Minister Theresa May’s present Brexit plan to divorce the United Kingdom from the European Union.

“The compromise on the table is something I can clearly support,” he stated. May is drumming up support for the divorce deal with the European Union prior December 11 vote in British parliament.

BMW is thinking about changes to U.S. operations as sales in the region expand, Krueger stated. BMW has a U.S. vehicle assembly plant, located in South Carolina, is preparing to open a Mexico factory next year, and is considering changes to its present scheme of importing engines and transmissions.

“We’re at the range where you could think about a second location” in the United States, he stated, adding that such a factory would give a natural currency hedge.