BMW 3 Series GT set for local assembly
The BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo will be locally assembled in Malaysia sometime this year, making it the 14th BMW variant to be assembled in the country. The plan was announced yesterday at BMW Group Malaysia’s annual sales performance media briefing for 2013.
Initially assembling only the 3 Series and 5 Series in earlier years, BMW Group Malaysia has been aggressively growing its local-assembly portfolio in recent years, with locally-assembled variants of the 1 Series, X3, and MINI Countryman all introduced last year following the X1 in 2010.
Operating in the premises of Inokom’s plant in Kulim, Kedah, BMW’s local-assembly operation is classified as semi-knocked down (SKD) – the vehicles arrive with fully welded and painted, but nevertheless empty body shells. The local plant personnel are then responsible for fitting in the various components and subframes along the assembly lines. The Inokom plant, which also assembles vehicles for Mazda and Hyundai, dedicates two production lines specifically for BMW.
No specific timelines have been given on the SKD 3 GT’s introduction and neither has BMW specified which variant will be locally-assembled. The fully-imported 3 GT is offered exclusively in its 328i guise with 245hp and 350Nm, but a wider range of four- and six-cylinder turbocharged engines, both petrol and diesel, are available for selection from the international catalogue.
Announcement of the 3 GT SKD comes at a time of strong growth for the BMW brand both locally and abroad. In Malaysia alone, BMW sold 7,974 cars in 2013, recording a 14% sales growth from 2012, nicely mirroring the brand’s global performance which saw a 6.4% increase to sell 1,963,798 vehicles worldwide. The Asia Pacific region was a key area of growth with a remarkable 17.3% increase in sales to record a total of 575,616 vehicles sold. The global numbers include sales of Rolls-Royce vehicles.
The company carries its good form into 2014, starting the year strongly with record-breaking sales in January, growing 7.8% with a total of 132,892 vehicles worldwide. Once again the Asia Pacific region was in the thick of the action, shifting in excess of 50,000 BMW and MINI vehicles in January 2014.
