BMW Group Plant Spartanburg More than Doubles Capacity for Battery Assembly.
- Sky Foster
- Steve Wilson
2020 BMW X5 xDrive45e Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Begins Production in Spartanburg, SC on August 1.
Spartanburg, SC – July 24 2019… BMW Group Plant Spartanburg has more than doubled its capacity for battery assembly prior to the debuts of the plug-in hybrid electric variants of two of its most popular models. The new, higher performing, fourth-generation batteries will be assembled on-site for the BMW X5 and BMW X3 plug-in hybrid electric variants. The 2020 BMW X5 xDrive45e Sports Activity Vehicle will begin production in SC, on August 1. Production of the BMW X3 xDrive30e will begin in December.
With the expansion of the battery facility at Plant Spartanburg in the U.S., the BMW Group is following the principle of local value creation. “We have invested approximately $10 million USD to install a new battery assembly line and expanded the area to 86,000 square feet. This means we could double the number of batteries produced if needed to meet market demand,” explains Michael Nikolaides, senior vice president engines and electrified drivetrains, BMW Group.
In addition, BMW Group has invested a further $10 million USD to support the production of the new PHEV models.
More than 120 employees were specially trained to work the new line, having completed an extensive program in battery production, robotics and electrical inline quality inspection along with end-of-line testing. An additional 225 vehicle assembly workers received training in the production of electrified vehicles, adding to the Plant’s already skilled staff.
“We have assembled batteries on site at Plant Spartanburg since 2015, making BMW Group a pioneer of electromobility in the U.S.,” said Knudt Flor, president and CEO, BMW Manufacturing, Co, LLC. “The BMW X5 and X3 are currently among the best-selling BMW models in the U.S. and we anticipate that their PHEV variants will also be well-received by BMW customers.”
From 2015 – 2018, BMW Group Plant Spartanburg produced the X5 xDrive40e, the first plug-in hybrid production car from the BMW core brand. All totaled, the plant’s battery assembly team assembled more than 45,000 batteries during this four-year period.
Group Plant Spartanburg is the global center of competence for BMW Sports Activity Vehicles and Coupes and produces BMW X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 models and their variants. Since starting production 25 years ago, the plant has built more than 4.6 million vehicles for the U.S. market and the world. In 2018, data from the U.S. Department of Commerce confirmed that Manufacturing was the largest automotive exporter by value for the fifth consecutive year.
BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC
BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC is a subsidiary of BMW AG in Munich, Germany, and is the global producer of the BMW X3, X3 M, X5, X5 M and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles and X4, X4 M, X6 and X6 M Sports Activity Coupes. In addition to the South Carolina manufacturing facility, BMW Group North American subsidiaries include sales, marketing and financial services operations in the United States, Canada and throughout Latin America; and a design firm and technology office in California. For more information on BMW Manufacturing, visit www.bmwusfactory.com.
If you have any questions, please contact Corporate Communications:
Sky Foster, Department Manager, Corporate Communications, BMW Manufacturing Co.
Telephone: +1 864-802-5546, sky.foster@bmwmc.com
Steve Wilson, Media Communications Specialist, Corporate Communications, BMW Manufacturing Co.
Telephone: +1 864-802-5346, steve.wilson@bmwmc.com
BMW Group in the United States.
BMW of North America, LLC was established 50 years ago to support the sales, marketing and distribution of BMW automobiles and motorcycles in the U.S. In 1993 BMW Group Financial Services NA, LLC was founded, and one year later BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC began assembling vehicles in South Carolina. In 2002 and 2003, BMW Group established MINI USA, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC relaunching two iconic brands and rounding out its product portfolio.
Today, the BMW Group has a nationwide corporate footprint in the U.S. which consists of nearly 30 locations in 12 different states. Beyond the National Sales Company and Financial Services headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, NJ, its manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and numerous other operational facilities, BMW Group in the U.S. also includes Designworks, a strategic design consultancy in Santa Monica, CA, BMW Group Technology Office USA, a technology research and development center in Silicon Valley, and BMW i Ventures, a venture capital fund, also in Silicon Valley.
BMW Group Plant Spartanburg is the largest single BMW production facility in the world, and the global center of competence for BMW Sports Activity Vehicles including the X3, X4, X5, X6, X7, and XM. The plant assembles more than 1,500 vehicles each day, and up to 450,000 annually. Since 1994, Plant Spartanburg has assembled nearly 7 million BMW vehicles in the U.S.
The BMW Group sales organization in the U.S. is represented through a network of 350 BMW retailers, 147 BMW motorcycle retailers, 104 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. The company’s activities provide and support over 120,000 jobs across the U.S. and contribute more than 43.3 billion to the U.S. economy annually.
Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwusanews.com, www.miniusanews.com and www.press.bmwna.com
With the expansion of the battery facility at Plant Spartanburg in the U.S., the BMW Group is following the principle of local value creation. “We have invested approximately $10 million USD to install a new battery assembly line and expanded the area to 86,000 square feet. This means we could double the number of batteries produced if needed to meet market demand,” explains Michael Nikolaides, senior vice president engines and electrified drivetrains, BMW Group.
In addition, BMW Group has invested a further $10 million USD to support the production of the new PHEV models.
More than 120 employees were specially trained to work the new line, having completed an extensive program in battery production, robotics and electrical inline quality inspection along with end-of-line testing. An additional 225 vehicle assembly workers received training in the production of electrified vehicles, adding to the Plant’s already skilled staff.
“We have assembled batteries on site at Plant Spartanburg since 2015, making BMW Group a pioneer of electromobility in the U.S.,” said Knudt Flor, president and CEO, BMW Manufacturing, Co, LLC. “The BMW X5 and X3 are currently among the best-selling BMW models in the U.S. and we anticipate that their PHEV variants will also be well-received by BMW customers.”
From 2015 – 2018, BMW Group Plant Spartanburg produced the X5 xDrive40e, the first plug-in hybrid production car from the BMW core brand. All totaled, the plant’s battery assembly team assembled more than 45,000 batteries during this four-year period.
Group Plant Spartanburg is the global center of competence for BMW Sports Activity Vehicles and Coupes and produces BMW X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 models and their variants. Since starting production 25 years ago, the plant has built more than 4.6 million vehicles for the U.S. market and the world. In 2018, data from the U.S. Department of Commerce confirmed that Manufacturing was the largest automotive exporter by value for the fifth consecutive year.
BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC
BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC is a subsidiary of BMW AG in Munich, Germany, and is the global producer of the BMW X3, X3 M, X5, X5 M and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles and X4, X4 M, X6 and X6 M Sports Activity Coupes. In addition to the South Carolina manufacturing facility, BMW Group North American subsidiaries include sales, marketing and financial services operations in the United States, Canada and throughout Latin America; and a design firm and technology office in California. For more information on BMW Manufacturing, visit www.bmwusfactory.com.
If you have any questions, please contact Corporate Communications:
Sky Foster, Department Manager, Corporate Communications, BMW Manufacturing Co.
Telephone: +1 864-802-5546, sky.foster@bmwmc.com
Steve Wilson, Media Communications Specialist, Corporate Communications, BMW Manufacturing Co.
Telephone: +1 864-802-5346, steve.wilson@bmwmc.com
BMW Group in the United States.
BMW of North America, LLC was established 50 years ago to support the sales, marketing and distribution of BMW automobiles and motorcycles in the U.S. In 1993 BMW Group Financial Services NA, LLC was founded, and one year later BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC began assembling vehicles in South Carolina. In 2002 and 2003, BMW Group established MINI USA, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC relaunching two iconic brands and rounding out its product portfolio.
Today, the BMW Group has a nationwide corporate footprint in the U.S. which consists of nearly 30 locations in 12 different states. Beyond the National Sales Company and Financial Services headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, NJ, its manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and numerous other operational facilities, BMW Group in the U.S. also includes Designworks, a strategic design consultancy in Santa Monica, CA, BMW Group Technology Office USA, a technology research and development center in Silicon Valley, and BMW i Ventures, a venture capital fund, also in Silicon Valley.
BMW Group Plant Spartanburg is the largest single BMW production facility in the world, and the global center of competence for BMW Sports Activity Vehicles including the X3, X4, X5, X6, X7, and XM. The plant assembles more than 1,500 vehicles each day, and up to 450,000 annually. Since 1994, Plant Spartanburg has assembled nearly 7 million BMW vehicles in the U.S.
The BMW Group sales organization in the U.S. is represented through a network of 350 BMW retailers, 147 BMW motorcycle retailers, 104 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. The company’s activities provide and support over 120,000 jobs across the U.S. and contribute more than 43.3 billion to the U.S. economy annually.
Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwusanews.com, www.miniusanews.com and www.press.bmwna.com