In 2015, BMW announced the expansion of its Spartanburg plant. The $1B investment is scheduled to complete this year when the South Carolina-based factory will begin producing 450,000 vehicles annually – up from today’s 350,000 units. Last year, it built a record 400,904 vehicles — topping that of any of its factories in Germany, BMW says. More than 280,000 crossovers made in Spartanburg were exported.
“We are very fortunate that … years ago, the company decided to go to the United States and build a plant at a time when everyone was withdrawing,” said Ludwig Willisch, CEO of BMW of North America for Automotive News. “It was not only a brave move, but it shows how right the move was. It is a big, important footprint for us.”
The North American plant was born in 1994 and the first American-built BMW to roll off production line was a 318i. Over the years, the plant became home of nearly the entire X family of crossovers. Today, in Spartanburg, BMW builds the X3, X4, X5 and X6. BMW’s largest SUV to date — the X7 — will join the others in 2018.
Last year, BMW Manufacturing Co. said, the export value of the vehicles it made in the Spartanburg plant reached $9.8 billion.
Spartanburg has produced about 3.3 million vehicles since 1994. BMW has invested $6.3 billion at the site since 1992. It has a daily output of about 1,400 vehicles.
This plant currently employees 8,000 and with the addition of the X7 line will increase employment to 8,800.
