ABSTRACT
This chapter considers how automotive companies develop their businesses and use an international operations strategy to expand capacity, penetrate new markets, improve cost competitiveness by increasing economies of scale, and facilitate the exchange of knowledge about innovations. It draws on the experience of BMW as an example of how automotive companies globalise their production operations and use capacity strategy and build flexibility into their international manufacturing plants as a way of dealing with uncertain markets as well as volatile political and economic environments. By the 1960s and 1970s internationalisation was becoming prevalent in the automotive industry as most of the main manufacturers started to open overseas plants. The chapter highlights specifically how environmental, economic, and social sustainability have increasingly become important considerations in the automotive industry generally and as part of BMW's operations strategy development. During the planning phase, BMW was conscious that it should remain a car manufacturer and did not have expertise in energy technology or waste/landfill management.
