BMW has constructed greater than 6.5 million vehicles at its manufacturing unit in Spartanburg, South Carolina, because the plant was opened in 1994, with over 1,500 automobiles being assembled each day. Round 57 % of the BMWs inbuilt South Carolina are exported to 120 completely different international locations world wide, and for the previous decade it has made BMW the biggest automotive exporter by worth within the U.S., a declare it may possibly proceed to boast after a report 2024. Final yr BMW exported virtually 225,000 automobiles from the Spartanburg plant for an export worth totaling $10.1 billion, which signifies that BMW made up virtually 20 % of all automotive exports from the U.S. by worth, in keeping with knowledge from the census bureau.
In 2024, simply over $58 billion in passenger vehicles have been exported from the U.S. in complete, whereas $214 billion’s value have been imported, so BMW made up simply over 17 % of the entire, or near one-fifth. That is fairly spectacular for one automaker. BMW says the highest export markets for the plant have been Canada, China, Germany, Nice Britain and South Korea. In complete BMW constructed 396,117 vehicles in Spartanburg final yr, and the corporate says practically 50 % of all BMWs bought within the U.S. have been assembled in Spartanburg, regardless of lower than half of the corporate’s lineup being produced there. 371,346 BMWs have been bought within the U.S. in 2024, which was not solely a brand new gross sales report for the corporate, however sufficient to maintain its crown as America’s best-selling luxurious model.
What vehicles does BMW make within the U.S.?
While you have a look at what fashions BMW builds in Spartanburg, it is not shocking that it retains taking this crown. The X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 are all produced in Spartanburg, together with the M variants of every, plus the XM is constructed there as effectively. These SUVs are a number of the model’s greatest sellers globally, plus they carry a number of the highest MSRPs within the lineup. Whereas a few of these fashions are additionally assembled in different elements of the world for native consumption or region-specific variants, like China or South Africa, the overwhelming majority of all of them come from South Carolina. So the subsequent time you are in Germany and see tons of BMW SUVs driving round, you possibly can really feel proud figuring out they got here from America. BMW additionally says greater than 57,000 plug-in hybrids have been inbuilt Spartanburg final yr, 14 % of the plant’s complete manufacturing.
The primary BMWs to be produced in South Carolina have been lower-end variations of the E36-generation 3 Collection from 1994 to 1996, however beginning in 1995 it was the only real manufacturing unit to provide the unique Z3, which ran from 1995 to 2002. Following that, the first-gen Z4 was additionally solely produced in Spartanburg. BMW says the completion of the plant was the quickest manufacturing unit start-up in automotive historical past, with simply 23 months between groundbreaking and the primary automotive being assembled.
What’s subsequent for the plant?
BMW has invested $13.3 billion within the Spartanburg plant over time and it is now BMW’s largest manufacturing unit on this planet. It at the moment covers 8 million sq. ft, employs 11,000 individuals and has an annual manufacturing capability of 450,000 vehicles, and it is nonetheless rising. A 300,000-square-foot growth to the primary physique store is completed, with greater than 300 new robots being put in, and the meeting corridor for the X3 and X4 is being expanded by virtually 50 % in preparation to construct absolutely electrical automobiles on the plant, of which there are at the moment none. That growth, the seventh main one for the plant, was introduced in 2022 as a $1.7 billion funding. BMW says the plant’s first EV can be shipped in late 2026 — possible the upcoming iX3 — and there can be at the very least six EVs constructed within the U.S. by 2030.
Close by, BMW is sort of completed with a brand new high-voltage battery meeting plant, saying that the tooling and gear is being put in with the intention for all work to be “considerably accomplished” by the tip of this month. The $700 million facility will stretch over a million sq. ft and supply batteries for these upcoming EVs that can be inbuilt Spartanburg.