Baku, Azerbaijan, June 21
By Fikret Dolukhanov – Trend:
BMW Group considers Kaliningrad as a feasible location for the future plant in Russia, a source in the German automaker told Trend on June 21.
He added that the company is taking into account the long-standing presence of BMW in Kaliningrad as well as the region’s attractive investment environment and the local government’s plans to improve it further.
“During the last months we have been conducting negotiations with the region’s government in order to explore existing and future opportunities and identify the optimal configuration for the potential plant in the region,” the source said.
He noted that the BMW Group regularly evaluates the long-term development of its worldwide production network.
“Over the long term Russia is considered to be a growing market for the BMW Group and we have made certain progress in evaluating our future activities concerning the plant in Russia,” the source concluded.
Earlier, commenting on the possibility of concluding a Special Investment Contract on vehicle assembly at the General Motors (GM) platform in St. Petersburg with Germany's BMW and Unison of Belarus, the Committee for Industrial Policy and Innovations of Russia’s St. Petersburg told Trend that both companies showed interest in the non-operating General Motors facility in St. Petersburg.
Uzbek Uzavtosanoat had similar plans as well. However, the negotiations have been ceased since.
“The Committee for Industrial Policy and Innovations of St. Petersburg held negotiations with representatives of the mentioned companies. The companies haven’t made the final decision yet,” a source in the Committee said.
The source added that according to the information they have, both companies are considering other sites in Russia as well.
It was earlier reported that BMW is willing to build a full cycle plant in Russia, which will carry out both welding and painting. In the first 11 months of 2017, BMW sold 27,227 cars in Russia, which is 8 percent more compared to 2016.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov
