BMW Hams Hall Engine Plant officially opened

Hams Hall, England, February 8, 2001...Today, BMW's new UK engine production
plant at Hams Hall, near Birmingham, was formally opened at a ceremony which
brought good news for the British car industry. BMW Group has invested £400
million in the factory, which will build a new generation of four-cylinder
gasoline engines for delivery to its car assembly plants in Germany, South
Africa and the US. The Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Professor
Joachim Milberg, used the occasion to draw attention to the importance of the
UK market to the BMW Group and emphasized his company's long-term commitment to
Britain as a major investor, employer and manufacturer.

"It is our policy", Milberg said, "to invest significantly in our major markets
around the world, according to the principle 'production follows the markets'."
He drew attention also to the recently concluded agreements at the Hams Hall
and Oxford plants regarding new pay and working conditions: "We are starting a
new chapter of industrial relations for the company in Britain. The flexibility
and efficiencies we got with these agreements are an important prerequisite to
be a globally competitive manufacturer here in Britain. They also give our
associates excellent rewards for their performance."

Last year, BMW Group sales in the UK totaled 68,000 cars, confirming its
position as the company's third largest market after Germany and the US.
Milberg announced that "the BMW Group has designated an investment of one
billion pounds to its present and future manufacturing facilities in Britain
until the end of the year 2002." The investment applies to three major
projects: The new engine plant at Hams Hall, the modernization of the
facilities in Oxford for production of the new MINI and a new head office and
manufacturing plant in England where, from 2003, a new generation of
Rolls-Royce cars will be built.

The BMW Chairman used the opening of the Hams Hall plant to outline the
company's future strategy and explained its decision to concentrate exclusively
on the premium sectors of the market, where BMW products will have design,
technology and performance attributes which will set them apart from the rest.
"The BMW Group," he went on, "is not a volume producer, with all the
uncertainties and volume-driven challenges which currently face mass
manufacturers. We are much more interested in profitable growth - with the
emphasis on "profitable" and "growth" in that order." Following BMW's record
performance in the year 2000, he forecast a successful future ahead and
promised a continuation of the high levels of investment which would be
financed, as in the past, from the company's positive cash flow.

Referring to the Hams Hall factory, which has just begun to produce a new
generation of four-cylinder gasoline engines employing revolutionary
VALVETRONIC technology, Milberg pointed out the particular significance of the
facility for a company whose engines, perhaps more than those of any other
manufacturer, are at the very heart of its products: "It is very much a vote of
confidence in our British colleagues to supply these outstanding engines to
their BMW colleagues in car plants around the world."

The Hams Hall plant will be the BMW Group's "center of competence" and sole
supplier of a new generation of four-cylinder gasoline engines between 1.6 and
2.0 liters to its vehicle assembly factories in Germany (Munich, Regensburg and
Dingolfing), South Africa (Rosslyn) and the US (Spartanburg). At full capacity,
the plant will be capable of producing over 400,000 engines per year and will
employ around 1500 associates. At present, 450 people already work at the
factory. This number will rise to approximately 650 by the end of the year.

There is certainly no shortage of people eager to work for BMW at the most
modern engine plant in the world. Within a week of job advertisements being
placed in regional newspapers in the West Midlands at the end of last year,
almost 9,000 people expressed their interest in the jobs on offer. As part of
the rigorous recruitment procedure, applicants are currently being invited to
special weekend "open days" before being formally interviewed. In view of the
large number of applications, this is a procedure which will take several
months to complete.

Hams Hall's Plant Director, Colin Mitchell, has been delighted at the extremely
positive public response to the job opportunities being offered by BMW: "The
quantity of applications we have received, and, more importantly, the quality
of the applicants we have met, gives us the confidence to say that we will
match the very high standards which have been set by BMW's other production
plants."

Guest of honor at the formal opening of the Hams Hall plant was the Rt. Hon.
Andrew Smith MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury. The government minister was
introduced by BMW's Chairman as the constituency Member of Parliament for the
company's Oxford factory and praised by him as someone who had "worked long and
hard to create a positive environment for both BMW and his constituents."

*Attached please find Dr. Milberg's and Dr. Reithofer's speech.

For inquiries, please contact:

Werner Rothfuss
Corporate Communications UK
Telephone: (+44) 01865 826 749
Fax: (+44) 01865 826 750

Jason Reakes
Corporate Communications Hams Hall
Telephone: (+44) 01675 460 241
Fax: (+44) 01675 460 403

Angela Wigley
Corporate Communications UK
Telephone (+44) 01865 826 748
Fax: (+44) 01865 826 750