Along with Honda and Suzuki, BMW is one of the few companies that have managed to gain a coveted position in the minds of people interested in both cars and motorcycles. The BMW Group operates 32 production plants worldwide, 26 of which focus on cars and the remaining six on BMW motorcycles. Narrow the list down to facilities that manufacture or assemble engines for BMW cars and it gets much shorter. As of 2026, five plants produce internal combustion engines for BMW cars. Of these, two plants are located in Europe, one being the Steyr plant located in Austria and the other being the Hams Hall plant in the UK.
The other three plants are located in Asia, which include the Shenyang plant in China, the Kulim plant located in Malaysia and the Force Motors plant in India. Note that the engine assembly facilities in Malaysia and India are third-party contract manufacturers established in partnership with local companies: Sime Darby Auto Engineering in Malaysia and Force Motors in India.
BMW’s Munich plant also made engines, but is currently being repurposed as an EV-focused plant focused on vehicles like the BMW iX3, which is based on the Neue Klasse X concept. Given that BMW assembles cars at dozens of locations around the world, every internal combustion BMW is based on engines produced at one of these specialized facilities. Once manufactured, these engines are shipped to final assembly locations around the world.
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History of BMW engine manufacturing plants
A worker assembling an engine at the BMW plant in Shenyang – BMW
BMW’s foray into automotive engines began in 1919 when it produced the M2B15 flat-twin engine for Victoria Motorcycles. In 1923, the company launched the R 32 motorcycle, the first BMW motorcycle to use a BMW engine. BMW did not move into car production until 1928 when it started producing a rebadged version of the British Austin Seven car. In 1932, BMW released an updated version of the same car with a redesigned and improved engine. The BMW 3/20 PA AM1 debuted that year and is considered the first BMW car with a BMW-built engine. Both were assembled at the BMW plant in Eisenach. After World War II, BMW lost control of the Eisenach plant and was forced to stop producing cars until the early 1950s.
The modern era of BMW car and engine production began again in 1952 when the company launched the BMW 501. It also marked the beginning of car and engine production at the Munich plant. In 1979, BMW opened a new factory in the Austrian city of Steyr, dedicated to the production of engines. It remains the company’s largest engine plant. BMW’s second engine facility, this time in the UK, began operations in 2001 and is where the engines for BMW’s MINI cars are assembled.
The only BMW-owned and operated engine assembly facility in Asia is the Shenyang plant, which opened its doors in 2004 and has since seen several expansions. It is now the largest BMW production facility in the world. In fact, one in three BMW cars sold today originates from the Shenyang plant.
BMW engine contract manufacturing plants
Aerial view of the BMW factory in Chennai, India – BMW
BMW’s entry into cost-sensitive markets in Asia led the company to change its approach to operating from wholly owned production facilities. An example of such an arrangement was seen in India, where BMW made its official debut in 2006. From 2006 to 2015, BMW’s manufacturing facility in Chennai, India assembled only Completely Knocked Down (CKD) kits into cars. Following changes in India’s customs duty rules, BMW entered into an alliance with an Indian company called Force Motors. This prompted BMW to open its first engine manufacturing facility operated by a third-party manufacturer in 2015. As of 2026, the Force Motors unit continues to produce engines for BMW cars sold in India. It is pertinent to mention that BMW Motorrad has followed a similar strategy with its low-cost motorcycles, where some engines for entry-level models are manufactured in India by motorcycle company TVS.
Another country where BMW has used a similar strategy is Malaysia, where BMW has formed alliances with several local companies. It began official operations in Malaysia in 2003, and since 2007, BMW has been in partnership with Sime Darby Auto Engineering (SDAE), resulting in a manufacturing plant where BMW cars for the Malaysian and Southeast Asian markets are assembled. In 2018, this partnership was further strengthened when the same plant began assembling engines.
Today, this facility continues to supply engines for BMW cars sold locally. The two engine production facilities in Malaysia and India are the only factories focused on automotive engines that are not under BMW’s direct operational control. This is also why these facilities are not listed on BMW’s website, which details all of its production facilities.
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Read the original article on SlashGear.