"We are seeing in these markets the rise of protectionism,"
BMW group sales chief Ian Robertson said at the Detroit Car Show, citing countries like Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, Russia and India.
"Gone are the days when you were classified as a local manufacturer with a minimum of localness. In the past, I've been to plants where literally all you did was put the wheels on the car," Robertson added.
BMW, the world's largest maker of premium cars, plans to build its first car plant in Latin America and is currently choosing between two sites.
The group is trying to "incrementally" expand production capacity in emerging markets like Russia and India, Robertson said.
"The criteria from governments these days are very specific, such as you need to weld bodies, you need to paint bodies. These criteria are designed to prevent simply shipping painted shells, which we still do for example to Russia from the U.S," the sales chief said. (Reuters)
