Mexi Spec: BMW 2 Series Production Likely Moving South of the Border

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky
mexi spec bmw 2 series production likely moving south of the border

While the current-generation BMW 2 Series isn’t ready for the grave, the company intends to put its next incarnation into assembly by 2021. That’s ages away for a consumer but precious little time for an automaker to make production decisions.

Likely spooked by potential trade issues looming over the horizon, BMW is reportedly considering shifting the America-bound 2 Series to a Mexican plant — specifically, the company’s new San Potosi facility, home of the new 3 Series.

According to BMW Blog, which usually has the straight scoop on the firm, the decision is all but final — given that the next-gen coupe also makes use of the company’s CLAR architecture. That said, there isn’t much in the company’s American lineup that won’t use the modular platform within a few years.

The rear-drive 2 Series is said to go on sale in the latter half of 2021, with a new front-drive-biased 2 Series Gran Coupe launching in late 2019 as a 2020 model-year vehicle. Beyond the name, the pair are unlikely to have much in common. The Gran Coupe will utilize the brand’s UKL platform, used by members of the Mini brand, and basically be the sedan version of BMW’s 2 Series Active Tourer.

It’s a supremely confusing naming strategy, but odds are good the ULK-based 2 Series will stay out of the United States (unless the brand thinks the Mercedes-Benz A-Class Sedan is getting too much attention). BMW just needs to decide which of its CLAR-based models will offer a manual transmission and all-wheel drive. It has already said it would do away with the convertible 2 Series due to lower-than-expected demand and focus on bringing a very performance-focused, rear-wheel drive hardtop. BMW development chief Klaus Frohlich even referred to it as a “drift machine” last month.

[Image: BMW Group]

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  • JohnTaurus JohnTaurus on Nov 14, 2018

    MY DEVICE IS RUNNING CRITICALLY LOW ON MEMORY! Thanks TTAC!

  • Darex Darex on Nov 15, 2018

    More relevant to the NA market, this is the sedan version of the X1/X2. Also, it most definitely will be sold in North America. BMW has said so.

  • Jeanbaptiste Any variant of “pizza” flavored combos. I only eat these on car trips and they are just my special gut wrenching treat.
  • Nrd515 Usually for me it's been Arby's for pretty much forever, except when the one near my house dosed me with food poisoning twice in about a year. Both times were horrible, but the second time was just so terrible it's up near the top of my medical horror stories, and I have a few of those. Obviously, I never went to that one again. I'm still pissed at Arby's for dropping Potato Cakes, and Culver's is truly better anyway. It will be Arby's fish for my "cheat day", when I eat what I want. No tartar sauce and no lettuce on mine, please. And if I get a fish and a French Dip & Swiss? Keep the Swiss, and the dip, too salty. Just the meat and the bread for me, thanks. The odds are about 25% that they will screw one or both of them up and I will have to drive through again to get replacement sandwiches. Culver's seems to get my order right many times in a row, but if I hurry and don't check my order, that's when it's screwed up and garbage to me. My best friend lives on Starbucks coffee. I don't understand coffee's appeal at all. Both my sister and I hate anything it's in. It's like green peppers, they ruin everything they touch. About the only things I hate more than coffee are most condiments, ranked from most hated to..who cares..[list=1][*]Tartar sauce. Just thinking about it makes me smell it in my head. A nod to Ranch here too. Disgusting. [/*][*]Mayo. JEEEEZUS! WTF?[/*][*]Ketchup. Sweet puke tasting sludge. On my fries? Salt. [/*][*]Mustard. Yikes. Brown, yellow, whatever, it's just awful.[/*][*]Pickles. Just ruin it from the pickle juice. No. [/*][*]Horsey, Secret, whatever sauce. Gross. [/*][*]American Cheese. American Sleeze. Any cheese, I don't want it.[/*][*]Shredded lettuce. I don't hate it, but it's warm and what's the point?[/*][*]Raw onion. Totally OK, but not something I really want. Grilled onions is a whole nother thing, I WANT those on a burger.[/*][*]Any of that "juice" that Subway and other sandwich places want to put on. NO, HELL NO! Actually, move this up to #5. [/*][/list=1]
  • SPPPP It seems like a really nice car that's just still trying to find its customer.
  • MRF 95 T-Bird I owned an 87 Thunderbird aka the second generation aero bird. It was a fine driving comfortable and very reliable car. Quite underrated compared to the GM G-body mid sized coupes since unlike them they had rack and pinion steering and struts on all four wheels plus fuel injection which GM was a bit late to the game on their mid and full sized cars. When I sold it I considered a Mark VII LSC which like many had its trouble prone air suspension deleted and replaced with coils and struts. Instead I went for a MN-12 Thunderbird.
  • SCE to AUX Somebody got the bill of material mixed up and never caught it.Maybe the stud was for a different version (like the 4xe) which might use a different fuel tank.
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