The BMW Group makes cars and engines at 32 factories around the world. The Debrecen site will become operational later this year, further expanding the manufacturing footprint. Until that happens, the Leipzig site is celebrating an important milestone. It’s been 20 years since the first car rolled off the assembly line. Yes, this 3 Series Sedan from the E90 generation.
The sports sedan was completed on March 1, 2005, and in the two decades that followed, BMW made 3.75 million vehicles. Although there are older factories in the vast production network, the Leipzig site has a rich history. It’s where the i3 and i8 were made, along with the company’s first production car with a front-wheel-drive layout. The 2 Series Active Tourer is built alongside the mechanically related 1 Series hatchback and 2 Series Gran Coupe.
The last vehicles with a rear-wheel-drive layout were assembled back in 2021. That’s when the original 2 Series Coupe/Convertible (F22/F23) and the M2 (F87) were phased out. The second-generation model is made strictly as a coupe (G42) at the factory in San Luis Potosi. The M2 (G87) is also exclusively manufactured in Mexico.
But the Leipzig site isn’t just about BMWs. In 2024, it became the first factory from the Group to build BMWs and MINIs on the same line. Production was brought in-house for the third-generation Countryman (U25). Assembly of its predecessor, the F60, was externalized to the VDL Nedcar automotive manufacturing company in Born, The Netherlands. The original Countryman (R60) was made by Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria.
When the latest Countryman was added to the Leipzig site in September 2024, BMW introduced a third shift for the first time ever. The night shift added 900 jobs, bringing the grand total to 6,800 employees. Last year there was a record in terms of output, with 248,000 vehicles completed. The factory, located in Saxony’s most populous city, has a maximum annual capacity of 350,000 vehicles. Currently, about 1,300 cars are made there daily, 800 BMWs and 500 MINIs.
Source: BMW
