Production of the X1 crossover has started at BMW’s plant in
Leipzig, Germany. Julian Buckley looks at the changes made to
to accommodate the new model. 

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BMW has halted production of the 3-Series saloon at its plant in Leipzig, Germany. It has been replaced by the X1 crossover, or sports activity vehicle (SAV). Although taking design cues from the X5 SUV, the smaller X1 features an all-new chassis that - in a first for any of the company’s ‘X’ models – offers either two- or four-wheel drive.   “Production of the 3-Series ended in December,” says Michael Janssen, Communications Manager for the BMW plants in Leipzig, Berlin and Eisenach. “Towards the end of production, we were only building 100 3-Series per day. On the line now we have three different 1-Series models (threedoor hatch, coupe and convertible) and the X1.”

BMW has recently consolidated production of its other X-Series models at its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina; X3 (formerly built by Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria), X5 and X6. With this in mind, why was Leipzig selected as production site for the X1?

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