Report: BMW May Buy Honda U.K. Plant

BMW AG may take over Honda Motor Co.’s Swindon, England, assembly plant that’s due to close in 2021, sources tell Autocar.

The British magazine says BMW could use the U.K. facility to shift some production away from Nedcar BV, which builds small BMW and Mini models on a contract basis in the Netherlands. BMW declined to comment.

The move would allow the German carmaker to focus production of vehicles built on its UKL1 platform in the U.K. The company also makes Minis in Oxford, which is running at full capacity, and it sources engines and body panels from nearby facilities.

BMW sold nearly 700,000 UKL1-based vehicles last year, including 1 and 2 Series cars, X1 and X2 crossovers and Mini-badged models.

Nedcar output the Netherlands facility jumped 18% last year to more than 200,000 units with the addition of the new X1, according to Autocar. But the British enthusiast publication says Nedcar anticipates fewer orders from BMW in the future and has eliminated 1,000 jobs.

Honda, which builds its Civic small car in Swindon, has been operating well below the plant’s 250,000-unit annual capacity for several years. Last month, the company confirmed plans to shutter the U.K. facility and a smaller factory in Turkey when the next-generation Civic is launched.