BMW plans United Kingdom Rolls-Royce plant

BMW, the German carmaker, yesterday was to announce plans to assemble Rolls-Royce cars at a new purpose-built factory near the old Goodwood racetrack in southern England.

The Earl of March, a lord who organises the annual “festival of speed” at the racetrack near Chichester in West Sussex, is understood to have played a key role in influencing BMW. “The earl is a car enthusiast and has been involved in facilitating the move,” according to one official involved in the project.

BMW is expected to invest L50m-L100m ($74m-$148m) in the site, creating more than 200 jobs. It chose Goodwood after considering locations including the “M4 corridor” west of London and its existing Oxford plant.

BMW will portray the investment as a commitment to British manufacturing – in spite of its controversial break-up of Rover Group. The company has been heavily criticised over the sale of Rover to the Phoenix consortium and the E3bn disposal of Land Rover to Ford.

Rolls-Royce will be named a separate business unit within BMW rather than part of its British subsidiary. Final assembly and production of hand-crafted interiors will take place at Goodwood. But body panels and chassis may be sourced from BMW’s former Rover plant at Oxford.

At present, Goodwood’s only connection to the motor industry is the “festival of speed” – a celebration of vintage sports cars – and the so-called Motor Circuit Revival staged in September.

BMW hopes to capitalise on its motor racing heritage by assembling about 1,000 Rolls-Royce cars a year at the factory, which will become operational in 2003.

Until then Rolls-Royce cars will be assembled at Crewe in NW England, where Volkswagen – BMW’s German rival – acquired the plant and rights to the Bentley and Rolls-Royce marques in 1998. The Rolls-Royce brand reverts to BMW control in three years’ time under an agreement with VW, which has ambitious plans to expand the Bentley range.