BMW has announced that it will build a new, €1 billion (£890 million/Rs 8,010 crore) factory in Debrecen, Hungary, as it expands its European production. 

The plant will have the capacity to produce up to 150,000 cars per year. It will employ over 1000 people and produce BMW-badged models.

It brings the brand’s number of global factories to 18, with 13 of those in Europe. This makes sense, given that Europe takes nearly half of all BMW Group sales. 

It’s not yet been announced which models will be produced at the plant, but, given that BMW has factories in the US and Asia, it’s likely that the plant will cater for European demand. 

BMW Group boss Harald Kruger said: “The BMW Group’s decision to build this new plant reaffirms our perspective for global growth. After significant investments in China, Mexico and the US, we're now strengthening our activities in Europe to maintain a worldwide balance of production between Asia, America and our home continent.