BMW Spartanburg 8 years ago.
BMW Manufacturing has exported 272,346 BMW X models from the Spartanburg plant during 2017. Nearly 87% of these “Sports Activity Vehicles and Coupes” were exported through the Port of Charleston with a value of approximately ~$8.76 billion, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
BMW confirms the South Carolina factory is the leading U.S. automotive exporter by value.
The remaining 13% of BMW X models were exported through five other southeastern ports: Savannah, GA; Brunswick, GA; Jacksonville, FL; Miami, FL; and Everglades, FL. All totaled, the Spartanburg plant exported more than 70% of its production volume of 371,284 units in the hottest segment in the world – compact crossover vehicles.
More Crossovers Coming
BMW announced last June that it will invest an additional $600 million in the Spartanburg plant from 2018 through 2021 for manufacturing infrastructure to build future X models. An additional 1,000 jobs will also be added through 2021.
BMW Plant Spartanburg produces 1,400 vehicles each day – the BMW X3, X4, X5 and X6 Sports Activity Vehicles and Coupes (and variants). The all-new BMW X7 will debut in late 2018. In 2017, the Spartanburg plant produced 371,284 vehicles. The factory has a production capacity of 450,000 vehicles and employs 10,000 people. ( BMW Opens Health Center at its South Carolina SUV Plant )
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.
