There’s good news to share for people who have placed an order for a new BMW or are about to. Specifically, we’re talking about the cars made at the German plants in Munich and Dingolfing. The two assembly facilities will return to full strength on March 21. As you have probably heard, bottlenecks in the supply chain caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have put the brakes on BMW production.
The output of new vehicles is already ramping up and will be back at 100% capacity on Monday. The disclosure was made by a BMW representative in an e-mail sent to Automotive News Europe. It’s the same story if you’re in the market for a new MINI as the plant in Oxford, UK will return to its normal operations on March 21.
In the meantime, production chief Milan Nedeljkovic told ANE the British factory is on a hiatus for the whole week. Thankfully, the BMW Group will be able to recover any lost production. That said, the automotive conglomerate has still suffered yet-to-be-quantified losses because of the situation in Ukraine.
The Situation In Ukraine And Microchip Shortage Have Created The Perfect Storm
The BMW Group is fully aware the supply issues will drag on. Consequently, it has already adjusted its EBIT forecast for the financial year 2022. From the initial targeted range of 8 to 10%, the projected earnings before interest and taxes have been reduced by BMW to 7-9%. To make matters worse, the microchip shortage is unlikely to get any better until the latter half of the year.
2022 is a busy year for the automotive conglomerate as the i7 and XM will both be hitting the assembly lines. In addition, the M3 Touring and iX1 will be added to the portfolio, along with the i3 Sedan in China. Speaking of which, BMW recently launched the long-wheelbase X5 through its joint venture with Brilliance. While it’s adding new models, the German brand is also retiring the i3 hatchback as the production of the quirky EV will come to an end in July.
Source: Automotive News Europe
