BMW Extends Production Halts

BMW is set to extend production halts in Germany to China and South Africa Monday as the automaker grapples with a shortage of steering parts.

Production at factories in Shenyang, China, and Rosslyn, South Africa, is likely to stop for a day, while its plant in Leipzig, Germany, is expected to be partially shuttered, BMW spokesman Michael Rebstock told Bloomberg News.

The Leipzig site has been closed since Friday, and another facility in Munich was affected last week as an unidentified Italian supplier has been unable to make the required deliveries, Focus magazine reported on Sunday.

“We can’t say at this point when the production halts will be over,” Rebstock said.

BMW will decide on further production stoppages caused by the supply shortage as needed, he said.

Rebstock described the likely financial damage as “manageable” but “not yet quantifiable,” noting that the automaker’s 1-series through 4-series models are affected.

“A task force is working constantly to solve the issue,” he said.

BMW’s profitability dropped in the first quarter, as an aging production lineup led the company to offer incentives to accelerate sales.

The Munich-based carmaker delivered 5.2% more cars in the first quarter than a year earlier, compared with a 16% jump at Mercedes, which last year outsold its luxury brand rival for the first time in a decade.