German car maker BMW will start production at a plant in Debrecen, in eastern Hungary, in 2025. Work on the base is “proceeding according to plan” and building construction will start in the first half of 2022. The more than 1 billion euro plant, with 1,000 workers, will have capacity to turn out 150,000 cars a year when production starts in 2025. BMW was to have started construction of the plant in the spring of 2020, but management revisited plans for the base because of the impact of the coronavirus crisis.
BMW Group Magyarország managing director Maciej Galant said BMW brand sales in Hungary rose 16 percent to 4,063 last year. Sales of the MINI brand increased 25 percent to 457. BMW had a 3.3 percent share of the new passenger car market, but a 29.5 percent share in the premium category. Next year, BMW’s share of the premium segment could reach 30 percent, Galant said. There are 15 BMW and six MINI brand dealerships in Hungary.
Photo credit: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter