BRASÍLIA: South America is becoming a big player in the automotive world, with several companies having plants there to meet demand for vehicles. The latest brand to start building there is BMW’s motorcycle brand, BMW Motorrad, which is starting production at the BMW Group plant in Manaus, Brazil. The building of BMW motorcycles in Brazil is significant because this is the first time a plant outside of Germany has been built to solely assemble BMW Motorrad products.
The first bike to complete its build in Manaus is the BMW F 700 GS, an agile model ready for all types of roads. Eventually the BMW F 700 GS will be joined in production by the BMW S 1000 RR, BMW R 1200 GS Adventure, BMW F 800 GS, , BMW F 800 R, BMW F 800 GS Adventure, BMW R 1200 GS, BMW S 1000 R, and BMW S 1000 XR. According to the automaker, this plant in Brazil will be able to build 10,000 motorcycles a year, and will work with more than 45 local suppliers. As of publication, the plant already employs 175 people to work with the bikes, and as production grows so should that number.
“BMW Motorrad is expanding its motorcycle production globally to achieve sustainable business growth. Brazil remains an important market for this strategy and we see great potential in this country over the mid and long term. This is why we have decided to construct our first plant outside of Germany for exclusive motorcycle production in Manaus,” explained Stephan Schaller, President of BMW Motorrad. We shall see how many models this plant ends up taking on in total, and if production meets expectations. With products like BMW Motorrad bikes, we’re sure finding riders will be no problem.
