Click for more.
The BMW Group (XETRA: BMWG.DE)* celebrated a milestone this week at the “Home of X” event at BMW Group Plant Spartanburg. With this milestone, BMW Group has completed the expansion of Plant Spartanburg and the construction of Plant Woodruff, establishing the basis for the assembly of fully electric BMW vehicles in South Carolina. The United States remains one of BMW Group’s most important markets worldwide.
“When we announced our investment plans for South Carolina in 2022, we made a clear commitment to the future of the BMW Group in the United States,” said Milan Nedeljković, Chairman of the Board of Management, BMW AG. “Today, we are delivering on that commitment. The completion of our investments in Plant Spartanburg and Plant Woodruff demonstrates our confidence in the United States and reinforces South Carolina’s role at the center of BMW Group’s global operations.”
The event also was the world premiere of the all new, fifth-generation BMW X5. BMW confirmed that the BMW iX5 will be the first fully electric BMW assembled in the United States, starting in late 2026. Plant Spartanburg and Plant Woodruff form an integrated network supporting the future of BMW X model assembly and electrification in the United States.
All New BMW X5
The X5 is one of the most successful products in BMW history. Since 1999, more than 3 million BMW X5 models have been sold around the world, a third of which were sold in the U.S.
Assembled at Plant Spartanburg for more than 25 years, the all new BMW X5 becomes the first vehicle offered with five drivetrain technologies. The options span internal combustion, battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, diesel, and eventually fuel cell EV powered by hydrogen. “This breadth reflects BMW Group’s technology-open approach and commitment to customer choice,” BMW said.
“Our strategic course remains unchanged. We will continue to pursue the same technology-open strategy that has made BMW successful and will continue to make us successful in the future,” said Nedeljković. [Flexibility to build different powertrains in one plant decreases the possibility of spending million of Dollars or Deutschmarks shareholder capital betting on one model or powertrain. It hedges expensive automotive bets. – AutoCrat.]
Plant Spartanburg will be the first plant in the BMW Group’s global production network capable of assembling a single vehicle with five different drivetrain technologies on one assembly line.
“The all new BMW X5 demonstrates our belief that innovation and customer choice go hand in hand,” said Sebastian Mackensen, President & CEO, BMW of North America. “Our customers both in the U.S. and around the world will love the new BMW X5—and our technology-open approach puts them in the driver’s seat to enjoy the performance and premium experience that define BMW, regardless of which drivetrain they choose.”
*AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
BMW iX5 Electric Vehicle Debuts in Spartanburg SC
Click for more.
The BMW Group (XETRA: BMWG.DE)* celebrated a milestone this week at the “Home of X” event at BMW Group Plant Spartanburg. With this milestone, BMW Group has completed the expansion of Plant Spartanburg and the construction of Plant Woodruff, establishing the basis for the assembly of fully electric BMW vehicles in South Carolina. The United States remains one of BMW Group’s most important markets worldwide.
“When we announced our investment plans for South Carolina in 2022, we made a clear commitment to the future of the BMW Group in the United States,” said Milan Nedeljković, Chairman of the Board of Management, BMW AG. “Today, we are delivering on that commitment. The completion of our investments in Plant Spartanburg and Plant Woodruff demonstrates our confidence in the United States and reinforces South Carolina’s role at the center of BMW Group’s global operations.”
The event also was the world premiere of the all new, fifth-generation BMW X5. BMW confirmed that the BMW iX5 will be the first fully electric BMW assembled in the United States, starting in late 2026. Plant Spartanburg and Plant Woodruff form an integrated network supporting the future of BMW X model assembly and electrification in the United States.
All New BMW X5
The X5 is one of the most successful products in BMW history. Since 1999, more than 3 million BMW X5 models have been sold around the world, a third of which were sold in the U.S.
Assembled at Plant Spartanburg for more than 25 years, the all new BMW X5 becomes the first vehicle offered with five drivetrain technologies. The options span internal combustion, battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, diesel, and eventually fuel cell EV powered by hydrogen. “This breadth reflects BMW Group’s technology-open approach and commitment to customer choice,” BMW said.
“Our strategic course remains unchanged. We will continue to pursue the same technology-open strategy that has made BMW successful and will continue to make us successful in the future,” said Nedeljković. [Flexibility to build different powertrains in one plant decreases the possibility of spending million of Dollars or Deutschmarks shareholder capital betting on one model or powertrain. It hedges expensive automotive bets. – AutoCrat.]
Plant Spartanburg will be the first plant in the BMW Group’s global production network capable of assembling a single vehicle with five different drivetrain technologies on one assembly line.
“The all new BMW X5 demonstrates our belief that innovation and customer choice go hand in hand,” said Sebastian Mackensen, President & CEO, BMW of North America. “Our customers both in the U.S. and around the world will love the new BMW X5—and our technology-open approach puts them in the driver’s seat to enjoy the performance and premium experience that define BMW, regardless of which drivetrain they choose.”
*AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.