Daily Archives: June 17, 2016
The Next BMW 3-Series Will Be Made In Mexico
Four years ago, there was a rumor that BMW plans to make its 3-Series sedans in Mexico. Not much has been heard in the next years, until BMW finally confirmed it today.
On Thursday, BMW started constructing a factory in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi, which will be the home of the BMW 3-Series sedans in the next years. Based on a report, it will begin rolling off cars by 2019, reports added.
The 3-Series sedans to be manufactured in the plant will be next-generation models, which were spotted testing its prototypes. These are also due to be revealed sometime next year. The cars built in the San Luis Potosi plant will be exported to the United States.
But why Mexico?
Mexico is an ideal location for car manufacturers because of its low wages and free trade agreements with the United States and Canada. Some Asian and South American countries also enjoy FTA with Mexico.
Moving its production and manufacturing plant in Mexico will help BMW answer to the demand, speed up delivery, and hedge against currency fluctuations. In the long run, BMW will be saving up in production costs, as well as in export fees and taxes. Whether this would reflect on the cars’ prices remains to be seen.
In fact, such is the attraction of Mexico that some of BMW’s competitors are also planning to use Mexico as a manufacturing hub. Audi will build its next-generation Q5 in Mexico later this year and Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz both confirmed plans to build some compact cars there as well.
Initially, BMW plans to have its Mexico plant produce some 150,000 units. It will be employing about 1,500 staff for the factory. The new Mexico plant will join BMW’s growing presence in the Americas, including the plants in Spartanburg, South Carolina, which specializes in SUVs. There are also two smaller facilities in Brazil.
A Vision For The Future: MINI Concept Vision 100
In an ideal world, all cars would be personalized and will reflect our personality. MINI wants exactly that, so it made known its vision of the future—a car that can become yours instantly.
Imagine driving your own car to the airport. Boarding a plane to be halfway across the world. Rent a MINI wherever you might be. Ride the car and it’s instantly the same car you left back home.
How would that come to be?
The MINI Concept Vision 100 is one in the series of cars for BMW Group’s centenary. Chief designer Anders Warming said MINI owners are connected emotionally to their cars. In the future, they want their clients to be digitally connected to their MINIs as well.
According to a report, it works just like how your smartphones works when you change phones. There’s a backup system in the cloud that stores your preferences—apps, travel history, etc. The car can even reflect a color hue to reflect your favorite artist. Can you imagine how more personal your car can get?
Personalization is the heart of this MINI concept. The system knows who you are, what you like and where you’re going. The MINI will also have a “digital skin,” so it can change the graphics on the exterior of the car, reflecting your own unique personality.
MINI said the car will be able to recognize you because of the enhanced sensor systems that it will be equipped with. This by simply having an app on your phone that can connect to the MINI’s system.
The idea behind this is that in the future, car sharing will be a norm and you don’t have to even own a MINI. Such a concept will boost one’s loyalty to a brand since you’ll be sharing a car but feeling like it’s your own too.
