Site competition
Fernández, governor of the state of San Luis Potosi, said that the government of San Luis Potosi was in talks with BMW over the plant for five years.
Krueger said BMW considered more than 10 sites in Mexico. Finalists were the states of San Luis Potosi and Hidalgo.
Nieto said at the ceremony that "Mexico is sending a clear message to the world that it's in a state of transformation."
That was in reference to a number of fiscal, political and telecommunications reforms that his government has launched since he took office 18 months ago. He said his government has attracted $13 billion dollars worth of investment in the automotive sector.
BMW sales in Mexico
BMW Group sold 13,992 vehicles in Mexico in 2013, an increase of 18 percent year-over-year. Motorcycle sales last year were 2,064 units, up 17 percent.
In March, the BMW Group announced a further investment of $1 billion at the Spartanburg plant to boost capacity to up to 450,000 vehicles by the end of 2016. The expansion will make Spartanburg the largest plant in the BMW Group’s international production network.
BMW also is spending $200 million to expand its joint venture plant in Moses Lake, Wash., to manufacture carbon-fiber reinforced plastic.
Also, BMW is building an assembly plant in Santa Catarina state in Brazil. The start of production for the Brazilian plant is scheduled for later this year.
Stephen Downer contributed to this report.