BMW in India

[Tone]

I see BMW are now assembling 3-series, 5-series [in May] in India. The 7-series, along with the X5 and X3, is being imported. It seems that they think the fast-growing economy may ape that of South Africa where a 1973 production run of 3,000 is today 55,000. According to the article [World Business, The Times] it is evaluating whether the MINI, already exported to 71 countries, could be also imported.

As motor manufacturing in the UK has been going down the tubes for decades, I sometimes wonder who amongst us might see the day when, blasphemy, BMW eases itself away from Oxford in order to stay competitive.

[Tone]

Well - it didn't take long for that idea [2nd para. in my post] to be shoehorned onto the table for open discussion - see today's "News Item" posted by Paul An' I don't think it's an April Fool's joke