Hekla Eruption

hekla eruption, Eyjafjalajokull , ash cloud, volcano, bmw, X5, X6BMW production in US halted by Volcanic ash cloudThe recent volcanic activity of Eyjafjalajokull has filled the skies around Iceland and Europe with a tremendous ash cloud that could halt production of BMW automobiles at the company's U.S. factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina, reports AutoNews.com. If trans-Atlantic flights continue to be delayed for two additional days, says BMW spokesman Mathias Schmidt, the German automaker could be to supply the necessary transmissions to assemble X5 and X6 sport utility cars.

BMW hurting because of ash cloud?

If you think BMW's bottom line would hurt a production layoff, imagine exactly what the ash clouds from Eyjafjalajokull are possibly doing to the airline industry and what a possible Hekla eruption might do. According to the BBC, the International Air Transport Association finds that airlines are losing around $ 300 million per day total due to flights canceled because of the ash cloud. Billions of dollars could be lost if this continues for weeks. 63,000 flights were canceled since the eruption chain started on April 14. If the BMW plant in Spartanburg shut down, the company would miss out on the production of about 600 cars per day, split between the X5 and X6 (numbers estimated by BMW). Because of the restricted air travel, a press trip to BMW factory in Shenyang, China was also called off.

America has been good to BMW in 2010

According to Bloomberg, the U.S. was BMW's biggest market in the first two months of 2010, so shutting down X5 and X6 production could be noticed. The X5 is part of BMW’s “luxury SUV” class. Variants include the xDrive48i, X5 xDrive30i, and turbo diesel xDrive35d. The X6 line bears the honor of being the "first ever sports activity coupe," according to BMW. Model production affected by the ash cloud consist of the X6 xDrive35i, X6 xDrive50i, and ActiveHybrid X6.

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