The recent volcanic activity of Eyjafjalajokull has filled the skies around Iceland and Europe with a tremendous ash cloud that could halt production of BMW automobiles at the company’s U.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 utility vehicles.
Ash cloud hurting BMW?
Just imagine just what the ash clouds from Eyjafjalajokull are doing to the airline industry and what a possible Hekla eruption could do if you think BMW’s bottom line would be hurt be a production layoff. According to 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. Numerous billions of dollars could be lost if the trouble persists for weeks. As many as 63,000 flights are canceled given that the eruption chain created the ash cloud on April 14. If the BMW plant in Spartanburg were to shut down, the company would be losing out on the production of about 600 cars per day, split between the X5 and X6 (numbers estimated by BMW). Also called off was a press trip to a BMW factory in Shenyang, China as a result of restricted air travel.
In 2010, The US has been good to BMW
According to Bloomberg, the U.S. was BMW’s biggest market in the first two months of 2010, so shutting down X5 and X6 production can be noticed. The X5 is part of BMW’s “luxury SUV” class. Variants include the X5 xDrive30i, xDrive48i and turbo diesel xDrive35d. The X6 line seems to be the “first ever sports activity coupe,” according to BMW. Model production affected by the ash cloud include the X6 xDrive35i, X6 xDrive50i, and ActiveHybrid X6.
