BMW's Mexico plans could include EVs

BMW's $1 billion Mexico assembly plant could become the automaker's first dedicated electric vehicle production center.

A source familiar with BMW's product plans said the automaker is set to begin manufacturing the next-generation 3 Series electric sedan and iX3 electric crossover starting in 2027 in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

The source said that production of the crossover will begin in the first half of 2027, followed by sedan output in the second half of the year.

A BMW spokesman declined to comment on future production plans.

In April, Automotive News reported on BMW's plans to move some X3 production to Mexico.

The X3 crossover is BMW's bestseller in the U.S. The company sold 204,658 X-badged SUVs in the U.S. last year, up 55 percent from five years earlier. In comparison, the overall luxury light-truck segment grew about 24 percent during that period, according to the Automotive News Research & Data Center.

BMW Group CEO Oliver Zipse last month said crossover production will come to Mexico, without revealing specific plans.

"Mexico will play an important role in our complete setup," Zipse told Automotive News. "At some point in time, you will see X models because the market demand is so high. That is all I can say right now."

The Mexico plant, which opened in 2019, builds gasoline-powered BMW 2 Series and 3 Series sedans. The factory operated at just 39 percent of its 175,000-vehicle capacity last year.

The timing would align with a major product change at the company. BMW will build the new 3 Series models on a Neue Klasse (New Class) electric architecture.

The Neue Klasse platform will play a crucial part in the ramp-up of EV sales for BMW, Zipse said during the automaker's first-quarter earnings call last month. "It represents a quantum leap in technology."

Zipse said the new architecture will feature the automaker's next-generation electric drivetrain "with more output, new cell chemistry and new cell formats."

Like its luxury peers, BMW Group is accelerating toward an electric future. It expects at least 1 out of every 2 vehicles it sells to be fully electric by 2030.

"I think we will be able to hit that point even a little bit earlier," BMW Group sales chief Pieter Nota said last month. "We are working hard together with our production colleagues to drive that ramp-up."