Well, that didn’t take long. BMW lifted the veils on the new 2 Series Gran Coupe a couple of weeks ago and now the F74 is already in production. The company’s smallest sedan rolls off the assembly line at the factory in Leipzig. At the same German site, the luxury brand puts together the 1 Series F70, effectively a hatchback version. In addition, the 2 Series Active Tourer and MINI Countryman are also manufactured under the same roof.
These four models amount to about 1,300 vehicles assembled daily at the Leipzig factory. A three-shift operation was introduced in September for the first time since the plant was opened in 2005. The night shift was necessary after a decision was taken to build models from both BMW and MINI at the same site. The 1 Series hatchback and the 2 Series Gran Coupe are not available with plug-in hybrid or fully electric drivetrains. The minivan has a PHEV option while the not-so-mini crossover can be had in pure EV guise.
BMW can make as many as 350,000 cars in Leipzig each year following an expansion that boosted capacity by 100,000 units. As many as 800 BMWs and 500 MINIs can be built daily. Plant Leipzig is the only factory in the BMW Group’s production network that builds cars for the core brand and MINI.
Although the 2 Series Gran Coupe is already in production, deliveries to customers won’t start until next March. Dubbed M235, the M Performance model will be available from day one, and so will Individual colors. Since the original F44 model hit the assembly line back in November 2019, the UK, China, and the United States have been the biggest markets.
It’s worth noting China won’t be getting this exact car. Instead, a long-wheelbase 2 Series Gran Coupe will be sold there. It’ll join stretched versions of the X1, 3 Series, X3, 5 Series, and X5. Codenamed F78, the elongated compact sedan is expected to go on sale in 2025. When it arrives in China, it’ll fill the void left after the 1 Series Sedan F52’s demise last year.
Source: BMW
