BMW has decided to immediately postpone a major cost item. A new factory with a large production capacity in Hungary will not be built for the time being.
Car manufacturers are currently looking into ways to deal with the massive financial slump caused by the corona pandemic. BMW has decided that scrapping a planned investment is a good way to maintain sufficient liquidity. According to Automotive News, BMW’s CFO, Nicolas Peter, has announced that an additional € 1 billion will be kept in the greenhouse by postponing the construction of a large factory in Hungary. “Due to the current situation, we are forced to postpone some projects,” said the CFO.
According to the original planning, the factory was to be built this year in Debrecen, East Hungary, near the Romanian border. Production had to start in 2023. Construction is reported to be delayed by at least a year. This is also a major disappointment for the local population. It would involve about 1,000 jobs. BMW planned to build 150,000 cars on an annual basis, including models with (partly) electric powertrains.