BMW 2007 Annual Report Download - page 23

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element in the overall package of measures labelled
EfficientDynamics.
In February, the BMW Group announced that
it would be investing euro 14 million to expand its
diesel development centre in Steyr. The focus will
be on increasing capacities in the area of vehicle
measurement technology and function testing.
The Hams Hall engine plant is the only site
within the production network that produces engines
for both the BMW and MINI brands. In total, 367,000
engines left the plant in 2007, of which 172,600
units were intended for MINI vehicles and 194,400
units for BMW vehicles. In mid-April, the one-mil-
lionth engine came off the production lines since
the Hams Hall plant was commissioned.
The first new-generation BMW four-cylinder
petrol engine left the plant in January. It incorporates
High Precision Injection technology and boasts sig-
nificantly lower fuel consumption and CO2 emission
values.
The BMW plant Rosslyn in South Africa manu-
factures only BMW 3 Series Sedans. In 2007, a total
of 50,168 vehicles left the plant. As part of the on-
going process of optimising logistics workflows, a
nearby supplier was linked directly to the Rosslyn
plant in 2007. This results in shorter and faster trans-
port routes and reduces logistics costs. As further
advantages, it is no longer necessary to use the
public road system and environmental pollution is
reduced.
In total, 157,530 units of the BMW X5 and Z4
Series left the BMW plant Spartanburg, USA, in
2007. As part of its strategic realignment, the BMW
Group has announced that annual production ca-
pacity at the Spartanburg plant will be increased in
the medium term to 240,000 units. It is planned
that the X6 and a possible successor to the X3
will be built there alongside the BMW X5 and Z4. In
February 2007 the US Environmental Protection
Agency designated the BMW plant Spartanburg as
Energy Partner of the Year. The award was given
in recognition of the fact that the Spartanburg plant
had converted its energy supply for the paint shop
to run on methane gas collected from a local waste
disposal site, thereby avoiding some 59,000 tons of
CO2 emissions per annum.
The plant in Shenyang, North China, is oper-
ated by the distribution and production joint venture
BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. In total, 32,760 units
of the BMW 3 Series and 5 Series were produced
there in 2007, including 21,192 units of the extended
version of the BMW 5 Series Sedan. This model is
only manufactured at the Shenyang plant and is in-
tended exclusively for the Chinese market.
BMW cooperation partner Magna Steyr
Fahrzeugtechnik, based in Graz, Austria, manufac-
tured 111,665 units of the BMW X3 for the BMW
Group in 2007. The decision to have the MINI brand
Sports Activity Vehicle manufactured by Magna Steyr
was taken in December.
One millionth MINI produced
Six years after going into production, the one-mil-
lionth
MINI rolled off the production line at the Oxford
plant at the beginning of April 2007. This specially
equipped and uniquely painted MINI was added to
the BMW Group Mobile Tradition collection.
In September, series production of the third
model variant, the MINI Clubman, began at the MINI
Production Triangle, comprising the Hams Hall,
Oxford and Swindon plants. The BMW Group an-
nounced that annual production capacity at the
Oxford plant will be increased in the medium
term to 260,000 units without additional capital
expenditure.
Successful production start for the
Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé
For the first time, more than 1,000 Rolls-Royce vehi-
cles were manufactured in a single year at Goodwood,
England. The first Rolls-Royce Drophead Coupé
left the factory in June 2007.
In October 2007, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
announced that it would be increasing production
capacity at the Goodwood plant. This step was
necessary as a result of the decision to develop a
further model in addition to the Phantom family and
in the light of the high demand for existing models.