BMW lifts output as sales rise and X1, GT near rollout

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the world's largest maker of luxury cars, ended months of production cuts as demand picks up and it prepares for the introduction of the new X1 compact sport utility vehicle.

BMW has boosted output at its Leipzig factory to a record 730 cars a day from 600, Harald Krueger, the Munich-based company's personnel chief, said today in an interview. The plant's 2,600-strong workforce has gained 300 temporary employees and 200 more from other German sites as it ramps up X1 production ahead of the model's rollout later this month.

Plants in Leipzig, Regensburg and Munich worked special shifts in September to keep up with demand, Krueger said. Only the Dingolfing factory, which makes BMW 5-, 6-, and 7-series vehicles, may have to cut hours again this year, he said.

"There is no short-time work at any of the auto assembly plants in Germany," Krueger said at the Leipzig factory.

BMW, which posted its first monthly sales increase this year in September, according to figures announced today, cut hours for as many as 24,000 employees in March to reduce output as the recession choked demand for upscale cars.

About 800 people are still working reduced hours at a motorcycle plant in Berlin and a component factory in Landshut, Krueger said. The manufacturer is seeking to counter the slump with its new X1 and the 5-Series GT model, which combines elements of SUVs and sedans.

BMW has capacity to produce about 55,000 X1s a year. The vehicle, which will hit European showrooms along with the GT on Oct. 24, will be the company's smallest SUV and the first to be offered with less costly rear-wheel drive in addition to all- wheel drive in an effort to attract new customers to the brand.

Sales chief Ian Robertson predicted last month that sales will this year fall 10-15 percent, a level that would keep BMW from posting losses. The automaker, which anticipates a slow recovery in luxury-car demand next year, lowered its target for 2012 car sales in September to 1.6 million from 1.8 million.