(June 27, 2017) SPARTANBURG, S.C. — The BMW Group has been a committed “local player” in the U.S. market for a quarter-century. On June 23,1992, the BMW Group announced its decision to build its US plant in Spartanburg. Continuous expansion of the plant with extensive additions and the decision to build the successful BMW X models in Spartanburg have made the plant the largest manufacturing facility in the BMW Group production network.

During the ceremony to mark the anniversary, the all-new BMW X3 rolled off the production line in Spartanburg. More than 1.5 million BMW X3 vehicles have been delivered to customers worldwide since it was first launched at the end of 2003. The new BMW X3 will be launched in fall 2017.

“The BMW Group’s success story in the U.S. would not have been possible without the open arms and warm hearts of the people and elected officials in the great state of South Carolina and the surrounding region," said Harald Krüger, chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. 



"Our relationship with South Carolina has been built upon decades of professionalism, mutual trust and respect – and goes far beyond just building great cars.”

The BMW Group has invested $8 billion in the production location to date and produced around 3.9 million vehicles since going online on Sept.8,1994. “From 2018 to 2021 we will invest further $600 million in manufacturing infrastructure for future generations of the BMW X models,” said Krüger. At present, the plant is getting ready for production of the all-new BMW X7, which will be launched onto the market in late 2018.

The BMW Group produces BMW X models in Spartanburg for the U.S. and global markets. With record production of more than 411,000 units in 2016, Spartanburg is the largest BMW Group plant worldwide. Around 1,400 BMW X3, X4, X5, and X6 vehicles come off the assembly line every working day. Maximum production capacity is 450,000 vehicles per year.

Around 70 percent of the vehicles produced in Spartanburg are exported to more than 140 countries worldwide. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the BMW Group is the largest vehicle exporter from the U.S. in terms of monetary value. In 2016, 287,700 BMW vehicles with a total value of more than $10 billion were exported from Spartanburg.

Eighty-six percent were shipped from the Port of Charleston, with the remaining 14 percent dispatched from five other ports in the Southeastern United States.

The BMW Group has 235 local suppliers in the U.S. In 2016, 80 percent of the BMW Group’s purchasing volume in the NAFTA area originated in the U.S. The U.S. is the company’s second-largest purchasing market, after Germany, and accounts for 5.2 billion euros.

The Spartanburg plant employs more than 9,000 people. “By 2021we will create further 1,000 jobs,” Krüger said. “Training and qualifying our associates is key to our future success.”

Training at the plant is based on the German dual apprenticeship training system that combines classroom learning with practical experience. In the past 10 years, the BMW Group has invested more than $220 million in vocational and continued training at its Spartanburg facility, with another $200 million planned over the next five years.