Foundation-laying ceremony for the new Husqvarna Motorcycles Headquarter.

Munich / Cassinetta di Biandronno (Varese). The new Development and Management
Centre of Husqvarna, the motorcycle manufacturer recently aquired by the BMW
Group, will be in operation from May next year. Covering 2603m² of ground, the
total volume of its three storeys will be 25,156m³.

Today, Wednesday 2 July, a foundation-laying ceremony took place at Cassinetta
di Biandronno (Varese) for the new Husqvarna Motorcycles HQ which is to be
built to supplement the motorcycle manufacturer's present premises at 8, Via
Nino Bixio. The ceremony was presided over by Friedrich Eichiner, Member of the
Board of Management of BMW AG, Hendrik Von Kuenheim, President of BMW Motorrad,
and Rainer Thoma, President and Managing Director of Husqvarna Motorcycles, as
well as church and government representatives and the staff.

An innovative project showing commitment the region
The total floor area is 42,320m². The new work involves an area of 6300m²,
where about 600m² of an old store has been demolished. Covering 2603m² of
ground, the total floor area on all three above-ground storeys will be 5800m²
and the total volume 25,156m³.
The project involves the use of techniques that cut completion times to the
minimum while still ensuring high architectural quality and an excellent
working environment. The structure has the most advanced systems of thermal and
acoustic insulation in accordance with energy-saving regulations, and will be
fitted with a system of solar panels to provide hot water throughout the
building.

The establishment's production capacity will, with a few alterations, reach
40,000 bikes a year, and every section is scheduled to be complete by summer
2009.
"The building of Husqvarna Motorcycles' HQ at Cassinetta di Biandronno"
declared Rainer Thoma, President and CEO of Husqvarna Motorcycles, "shows how
keen our firm and the whole BMW Group are to invest in Italy, and in area of
Varese in particular: not just in setting up new buildings, but also in finding
the right workforce, and especially the right highly skilled staff."

The new Cassinetta HQ
The creation of the new corporate HQ is the result of a project designed to
bring Husqvarna Motorcycles' various organisational units together in the
shortest time possible. Both the structure and the organisation of the new HQ
have been conceived and designed to encourage product development and optimal
integration of all the functional units involved in the process of creating the
whole range of Husqvarna Motorcycles. The structure is designed in such a way
as to cope with forecast growth in the medium term, and also to be extended in
the longer term without difficulty.

The design puts the engine division and the roller test benches on the ground
floor (2603m²), in the centre of the building. The surrounding area is devoted
to the workshop producing prototypes and racing bikes. One section is likewise
reserved for the Training Centre for the technicians of Husqvarna's after-sales
support network.
Side by side on the first floor (2278m²) there are the Styling Centre (753m²)
and the Development Division (816m²). Here they will have all the tools needed
for ensuring that their work is done with the utmost concentration on the
product.

The Purchasing Department and the Market Research Department are also on the
same floor, both close to the Development Division so that it is increasingly
at the centre of the firm's commercial activities and so gets the most out of
them in terms of functionality, quality and cost, in close collaboration with
the suppliers.

On the second floor (592m²) are the senior management and administration
offices; these occupy the northern part of the building only, and beside them
there is an open space on the roof of the Development Division for
presentations of new models.
At the roadside front of the building there is space for installing the 325m²
Husqvarna Motorcycles showroom, which will be highly visible and easy to reach
from the road.
Husqvarna Motorcycles.

Tradition on two wheels since 1903
Husqvarna Motorcycles, which was bought by the BMW Group in October 2007, is a
well-known and highly respected firm in the off-road motorbike market, its
image being inextricably connected with competition riding (72 prizes in Moto
Cross, Enduro and Supermotard contests). Production was moved to the Varese
facilities from 1987 onward. Husqvarna Motorcycles has recently overhauled its
product range with the introduction of an innovative two-shaft drive unit
available in four sizes: 250cc, 310cc, 450cc and 510cc.