(Bloomberg) — Bayerische Motoren Werke AG joins rivals Audi and Mercedes-Benz with plans to build a car factory in Mexico as low wages and global expansion take precedence over “Made in Germany” exclusivity.
The $1 billion plant in the state of San Luis Potosi will be BMW’s second in North America when production starts in 2019, the Munich-based company said today in a statement. The plant’s capacity to build 150,000 vehicles a year will increase production in the region to as many as 600,000 cars, or about 30 percent of this year’s sales goal.
“The BMW group will be even better positioned to take advantage of the growth potential” in North and South America, Harald Krueger, the manufacturer’s production chief, said in the statement. “We are continuing our strategy of ‘production follows the market.’”
The world’s biggest manufacturer of luxury cars will be the last among the German rivals in making vehicles in Mexico, where labor costs are about 20 percent of U.S. levels. Daimler AG’s Mercedes will start joint production in 2017 with Nissan Motor Co.’s upscale Infiniti unit in Aguascalientes. Volkswagen AG’s Audi will begin assembling autos in San Jose Chiapa in 2016. The Latin American country’s free-trade agreements with the U.S., South America and Europe were critical to the plans.

Mexico Luxury

“Mexico’s location facilitates exports to North America as well as South America, which we think will be a future growth market,” Frank Biller, a Stuttgart, Germany-based analyst at LBBW, said before BMW’s announcement. “If a cluster of carmakers starts production in Mexico, this will create a local industry.”
Auto production in Mexico advanced 7.2 percent to 1.31 million vehicles during the first five months of 2014 following last year’s record output of 2.93 million, according to the Mexican Automobile Industry Association, a trade group known as AMIA that represents automakers.
Plants in Mexico will probably build about 3.1 million vehicles this year following factory openings during the last eight months by Nissan, Honda Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp., AMIA President Eduardo Solis said last month. General Motors Co., the largest U.S. automaker, has been building cars in San Luis Potosi state since 2008, according to its website.
The new factory investments by BMW as well as Mercedes and Infiniti are bolstering Mexico’s global role as a luxury car manufacturer, President Enrique Pena Nieto said today. BMW’s 3- Series may be among the vehicles made at its Mexican plant, according to Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo.
‘Highest Quality’
“The manufacturing of autos in this segment, which requires the highest quality standards and advanced technology, demonstrates that the productive profile of Mexico is evolving,” Pena Nieto said today at an event with BMW in Mexico City. “We’re showing the world that Mexico is up to attracting these investments.”
The German automaker plans to scale back cost increases by “several hundred million euros annually” in light of tougher emissions regulations and spending on future technology, the carmaker said last month. Expenditures include the “i” electric-car subbrand, whose models feature a chassis made from carbon fiber. The company is targeting operating profit from carmaking at 8 percent to 10 percent of sales.
Rivals’ Race
BMW, Audi and Mercedes are all expanding as they target record global deliveries and vie with one another for the sales lead in the segment. Both Ingolstadt-based Audi, which ranks second to BMW in the world’s luxury-car market, and No. 3 Mercedes have vowed to overtake BMW by the end of the decade.
“Some carmakers already have longer-term experience in Mexico, and I’m not aware of any significant problems in recent years affecting production or quality,” said LBBW’s Biller.
Sales of BMW-brand vehicles in the U.S. jumped 12 percent from a year earlier to almost 157,400 cars in the first half of 2014. Deliveries were lifted by demand for the 4-Series coupe and X3 sport-utility vehicles, which BMW makes in Spartanburg, South Carolina. U.S. sales by Stuttgart-based Mercedes rose 6.8 percent to 151,624 cars in the period, while Audi delivered 84,349 cars, a 14 percent gain.
The new Mexican plant follows BMW’s decision to invest $1 billion to raise annual production capacity 50 percent at Spartanburg by 2016 to 450,000 vehicles, including the new full- sized X7 SUV. When the expansion is complete, more BMWs will roll off the line in South Carolina than from any other facility in the world.
While the “Made in Germany” cachet remains critical to BMW, the focus is shifting more to engineering and design in its home market, with manufacturing carried out elsewhere to reduce import tariffs and currency risks, Milagros Caina-Andree, the carmaker’s head of human resources, said in April.
“We are now an international company with Bavarian roots and many sites abroad where we build vehicles at the same high quality level as in Germany,” she said.

 

Mexico's Riviera Maya, once a long stretch of jungle coastline, has changed over the last few decades with the opening of one resort development after another. All of these huge resorts have their own palapa-roof beach bars, which are perfect places to enjoy a libation steps from the sea. Luckily there are a handful of former fishing towns along the coast, such as Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, and Akumal, where proper beach bars flourish, independent of resorts. These towns have kept pace with tourism development in the region and now overflow with boutique shops, nightclubs, restaurants and — of course — beach bars.

Blue Parrot Beach Club, Playa del Carmen

The Big Daddy of Riviera Maya beach bars is the Blue Parrot Beach Club. When I first visited Playa del Carmen in the '80s, the town was mostly dirt roads and jungle. The Blue Parrot was just being built, and they allowed me to sleep in one of their beachfront rooms — though it was only a sand-floored shell, lacking doors and roof. Even then the Blue Parrot had a sense of hospitality and has since grown into a beachfront bar of international renown. People come for the chill sense of style, epitomized by daybeds, DJs and delicious tropical cocktails. Hints of tacky Polynesian décor don't diminish the club's charm. If a guest wants to move even closer to the ocean, there are plenty of lounge chairs to choose from. At night, the Blue Parrot turns into a sophisticated club with an outdoor dance floor on the beach, a Palapa Lounge also set up for dancing, and a Sky Bar providing a quieter atmosphere for kicking back with friends. Each night at 11 p.m. there's a fire dance show on the beach.

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La Buena Vida, Akumal

Akumal is another of the original towns along Riviera Maya's coast, and has since grown a reputation as being eco-sensitive to the nesting sea turtles along its beaches. Day of the Dead-decorated La Buena Vida is the town's premier beach bar. Situated on lovely Half Moon Bay, La Buena Vida has sand floors and seats on swings doubling as bar stools. While standard drinks are served, adventurous drinkers will want to try some of the signature cocktails and shots, such as the Maya Kiss, a mix of traditional Mayan liquor called Xtabentun with rum and coconut cream; or the Tequila-Politan, combining Don Julio Blanco, Controy, cranberry and a squeeze of lime. They also serve food, with an emphasis on fresh seafood, such as Tic Kin Xic fish, which is baked in banana leaves and served with rice and fried plantains. Chillin' like a villain is easy at La Buena Vida, where they actually have a couple of crow's nest tables set 15 feet off the ground in the beachside palm trees.

Zenzi Beach Club, Playa del Carmen

Zenzi Beach Club is all about sand, sun, and lounge chairs during the day, with a steady stream of refreshments a raised finger away. The club has a different ambience depending on the day. They have a movie night on Mondays, the beats are bossa nova on Wednesdays and, on Sunday, they have a huge all-you-can eat barbeque on the beach. Most nights the music goes live at five. The beach at Playa del Carmen is a Euro-centric show in itself, so a day at Zenzi under the palms will be an eye-opener. If all that elbow-bending gets you hungry, Zenzi serves up standard Mexican beach fare like ceviche and coconut shrimp. Playa del Carmen's main street, Fifth Avenue, is only a few blocks away and lined with superb restaurants. Travelers might want to detour their appetites if they have the energy to walk a few blocks. I can personally recommend, Yaxche (pronounced jag-shey), which serves authentic Maya cuisine with ingredients from locally sourced farms.

La Panza es Primero, Puerto Morelos

The interior decorating scheme is Mexican wrestler at La Panza es Primero (translated, the name means "The Belly is First"). The colorful posters and masks create a lighthearted, whimsical atmosphere. Even the cutlery and dinnerware is colorful, utilizing the ubiquitous blue and white enamel cups and plates, which can be seen on sale in any authentic Mexican market. La Panza is in Puerto Morelos, a small fishing village that keeps a light hand on the steering wheel when it comes to tourism.

"This little beachfront restaurant serves up some of the best margaritas I've had in the area along with tortilla soup or some (of) the freshest fish tacos," says David Lavigne, frequent traveler and director Mexico product development for Delta Vacations and Aeromexico Vacations. "It's very low-key right on the beach. You can watch the fishermen come in from a day's fishing or kids playing on the beach. Low-key, relaxing and just what the doctor ordered."

Order up a bucket of Coronas or a stiff margarita, ask the waiter about the catch of the day and settle in for a laidback afternoon on the beach, with a nice view of the Puerto Morelos dock. It's easy to combine an afternoon at La Panza es Primero with some snorkeling and swimming.

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Freddy's Tequila and Ceviche Bar, Belmond Maroma Resort and Spa, Maroma Beach

While this may be one of the resort beach bars I mentioned before, there's a difference. Many of the resorts along the Riviera Maya coast are of the all-inclusive variety, which means meals and drinks are paid for upfront. This naturally discourages drop-ins, since there's nary a cash register in sight. Belmond Maroma Resort and Spa — an ultra-sophisticated Orient Express property — is old school, so it's easy for non-resort guests to amble over to the hotel's beachfront Freddy's Tequila and Ceviche Bar. Maroma Beach is beautiful and underdeveloped — the kind of serene stretch of sand that clears the mind. You don't have to be a tequila aficionado to enjoy Freddy's, but it doesn't hurt, since they serve over 100 varieties of the best brands of the spirit. They also have a reputation for serving some of the finest ceviche on the coast: six different recipes, prepared fresh at a guest's table. This is blue-chip dining on the beach, with a price tag to match.

http://www.usatoday.com/experience/beach/mexico/five-coolest-beach-bars-in-riviera-maya/14094739/?csp=fbusattravel_sf29853367&sf29853367=1