MUNICH (Reuters) - Premium carmaker BMW (>> Bayerische Motoren Werke AG) is considering new production sites around the world, with one option being Mexico, a person familiar with the situation told Reuters on Friday.

German daily Handelsblatt earlier cited company sources as saying BMW was examining whether to build plants in Mexico and eastern Europe. It said Slovakia's Kosice and Hungary's Miskolc were possible candidates.

BMW declined to comment. Earlier this month, it denied reports it plans to build an assembly plant in Slovakia.

Just like its peers, BMW sees sales volume growing faster abroad in coming years than in Europe, where the market is shrinking amid the euro zone debt crisis.

It wants to build a plant in Brazil, but has threatened to pull the plug on this if new government policies there meant it could not profitably make cars.

Volkswagen's (>> Volkswagen AG) premium brand Audi, a rival to BMW, revealed plans last month to build a factory in Mexico to take advantage of low labor costs there, as well as an exemption from import duties in some regions.

(Reporting by Irene Preisinger; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by David Hulmes)

Stocks treated in this article : Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, Volkswagen AG