BMW begins to build auto plant in Mexico on KCSM line

The BMW Group yesterday held a groundbreaking ceremony in San Luis Potosi for its first auto manufacturing plant in Mexico.

To launch production in 2019, the $1 billion plant will be served by Kansas City Southern de Mexico S.A. de C.V. (KCSM). The facility will be used to build the automaker's best-selling model, the BMW 3 Series Sedan. The plant's annual production capacity is projected at up to 150,000 vehicles.

In 2008, the BMW Group launched a purchasing and supplier network in Mexico, which enables the company to maintain close relationships with its suppliers in that nation, as well as in North and Central America.

KCSM currently serves 90 percent of the auto assembly plants in Mexico, and moves finished vehicles and automotive parts. The railroad also serves four Kansas City Southern-owned automotive distribution facilities and three major ports on the Pacific and Gulf coasts in Mexico.