BMW Brazil has been producing 3 Series cars at its Araquari plant in Santa Catarina since 2014. In the 11 years since the company’s first factory in South America became operational, 45,000 3 Series units have been assembled. To mark the milestone, the luxury automaker’s local branch is adding a new color: Arctic Race Blue Metallic.
While the paint, internally codenamed “C4F,” is new to the Brazilian-market 3 Series, it has been available in other markets for some time. It joins the color palette for the G20’s 2026 model year and is offered across all three versions of the luxury sedan: 320i GP, 320i Sport GP, and 320i M Sport. Local customers can also choose from Alpine White, Sapphire Black, Skyscraper Gray, Brooklin Grey, and Portimao Blue.
BMW’s Araquari factory also builds the X1 and X4 crossovers, though the latter is on its way out. Since the end of last year, it has also been producing the plug-in hybrid X5 xDrive50e. To date, more than 100,000 vehicles have been assembled at what the company calls the “largest premium car factory in South America.” In 2024 alone, the plant produced 11,472 vehicles, representing an 8.1% increase over the previous year. However, there’s still room for growth, as the facility has an annual production capacity of 32,000 units.
In addition to the assembly line, the factory includes body and paint shops. The site spans 1.5 million square meters, comprising 112,893 square meters of buildings. BMW plans to invest 1.1 billion BRL ($200 million) by the end of 2028. The investment will go into the “local production of other new models and for the development of new technologies.” The plant directly employs 1,300 people and supports another 2,500 through partners, suppliers, and dealers.
Here’s a fun fact about Araquari. It’s the only BMW factory in the global production network to manufacture gasoline, plug-in hybrid, and flex-fuel vehicles under one roof. The 3 Series’ B48 engine has been specifically adapted to run on fuel with a 25% ethanol blend.
Source: BMW
