BMW seeks to cut costs; Automaker hires 70 engineers for purchasing.

Byline: Bradford Wernle

Despite achieving production and sales records in 2004, BMW will continue to look for ways to cut costs.

The German automaker hired 70 engineers into its purchasing department to help identify potential savings, said BMW CEO Helmut Panke at the 3 series launch here.

"They had to be engineers who could talk to suppliers about engineering and design changes," he said. "We gave our purchasing department more clout."

The new 3 series should help BMW remain profitable in 2005 despite the weak dollar and the fact that