The recent volcanic activity of Eyjafjalajokull filled the skies around Iceland and Europe with a huge ash cloud that could halt production of BMW automobiles at the US company’s factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina, reports AutoNews.com. If trans-Atlantic flights continue to be delayed for two additional days, says BMW spokesman Mathias Schmidt, the German automaker will be unable to supply the necessary transmissions to assemble X5 and X6 sport ut! ility vehicles.
BMW hurting because of ash cloud?
Just imagine exactly what the ash clouds from Eyjafjalajokull are doing to the airline industry and exactly what a possible Hekla eruption could do if you think BMW’s bottom line would be hurt be a production layoff. As outlined by the BBC, the International Air Transport Association finds that airlines are losing around $ 300 million per day total due to flights canceled because of the ash cloud. If the trouble persists for weeks, many billions of dollars could possibly be lost. 63,000 flights were canceled since the eruption chain started on April 14. If the BMW plant in Spartanburg shut down, the company would miss out on the production of about 600 autos per day, split between the X5 and X6 (numbers estimated by BMW). A press trip to a BMW factory in Shenyang, China was also called off because of restricted air travel.
In 2010, The US has been good to BMW
According to Bloomberg, the U.S. was BMW’s biggest market within the first two months of 2010, so shutting down X5 and X6 production will be noticed. The X5 is part of BMW's "luxury SUV" class. Variants contain the X5 xDrive30i, xDrive48i and turbo diesel xDrive35d. The X6 line is the “first ever sports activity coupe,” according to BMW. Model production affected by the ash cloud contains X6 xDrive35i, ActiveHybrid X6, and X6 xDrive50i.
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