Automotive News is reporting that BMW is tweaking its production plans and processes to reduce cost and complexity. What does this mean for the cars you love? Read on.

“Our aim is to reduce production costs by 5 percent year over year,” said Oliver Zipse, BMW’s manufacturing chief. “Streamlining platform allocation is a crucial element in attaining this goal,” he said on the sidelines of the company financial results presentation on March 16.

In future four plants will build only fwd vehicles and five will build only rwd vehicles. An exception to the fwd/rwd rule will be BMW’s plant in Tiexi, China, which will continue to build both types of vehicles. All factories will be able to produce four-wheel-drive cars because BMW’s fwd and rwd platforms are also 4wd capable

The shift will mainly affect BMW’s Regensburg and Leipzig factories which will shift to FWD production only.