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Luxury car maker BMW revealed a $1 billion Mexican plant investment on Thursday, becoming the latest major automaker to take advantage of the country's growing industrial base and tariff-free access to the U.S. market. The automaker outlined plans to build a factory in the central Mexican city of San Luis Potosi, reducing the German company's dependence on higher-cost plants at home.

The ignition switch recalls now engulfing General Motors and Chrysler are raising new questions about the safety of the parts across the American auto industry. GM's safety crisis deepened dramatically Monday when the automaker added 8.2 million vehicles in North America to its ballooning list of cars recalled over faulty ignition switches. GM has now issued five recalls for 17.1 million cars with defective switches, spanning every model year since 1997. On the same day, Chrysler recalled almost 700,000 vehicles in North America because its ignition switches — like GM's — can slip from the "run" to the "accessory" position while driving.



Germany’s carmakers racked up record sales in May, buoyed by a strengthening recovery in Europe and sustained demand for premium cars in the US and China. BMW and Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz reported steeper gains than Volkswagen AG, Germany’s and Europe’s biggest carmaker, which delivered a record 4.11 million vehicles for the first five months of the year despite weaker demand in emerging markets. VW’s sales were up 6.3% for the months of January through May.