BMW has told local reporters it plans to considerably increase completely built up (CBU) vehicle exports from its Rayong plant in Thailand from this year.

The announcement came after the carmaker earlier this year completed a THB1.1bn (US$31m) expansion of the factory which is operated by its BMW Manufacturing (Thailand) subsidiary, lifting annual capacity to 20,000 BMW and Mini passenger cars.

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The company plans to export around 10,000 vehicles annually over the next two years with most shipments going to mainland China. The remainder will be sold in Thailand.

So far, the Rayong plant has exported passenger cars and motorcycles to Malaysia; and motorcycles to mainland China since 2015. From this year, the factory will also export the BMW X3 and X5 SUVs to China.  

Production of motorcycles has also been lifted significantly in the last year and new export opportunities in the ASEAN region are being evaluated.

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