(Reuters) - German carmaker BMW (>> Bayerische Motoren Werke AG) is planning a second North American factory to cater to the rising demand for its vehicles, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

The Munich-based carmaker is planning to build its bestselling 3-Series at the new plant and has been short-listing locations, with at least two sites in Mexico still being considered, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. (http://link.reuters.com/zaz38v)

In an effort to fend off competition in the region from Volkswagen AG's (>> Volkswagen AG) Audi and Daimler AG's (>> Daimler AG) Mercedes-Benz, BMW announced a $1 billion plan on March 28 to expand production capacity by 50 percent making its South Carolina plant the largest facility worldwide.

BMW Chief Executive Officer Norbert Reithofer had said last month that the company will need an additional factory in the region at some point as part of an expansion, Bloomberg reported.

BMW was not immediately available to comment on the Bloomberg report.

(Reporting by Shubhankar Chakravorty in Bangalore; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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