BMW Plant in South Carolina Passes 3.5 Million Vehicle Milestone, Undergoes Expansion

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--BMW U.S. Manufacturing Company, part of BMW (Munich, Germany), recently announced its South Carolina plant has produced the 3.5 millionth automotive vehicle. Industrial Info is tracking a $1 billion enhancement project under way at the facility.

The Spartanburg County Plant in Greer is in the midst of an enhancement that will expand the X5/X6 assembly hall and the logistics warehouse. Two new indoor test tracks will be constructed. BMW said the expansions will increase annual vehicle production to 450,000 and allow for the plant to become the exclusive producer of the new X7 sports activity vehicle, which is expected to come online in 2018. The enhancement project has two phases, with Phase I completed in January 2016 and Phase II due for completion in first-quarter 2017.

In 2015, the plant produced a record 400,904 vehicles, making it the largest in the BMW Group by volume, putting out more than 1,400 vehicles per day, according to the company. The plant is the exclusive producer of the X3, X4, X5 and X6 models and their subsets. The 3.5 millionth BMW is a mineral white metallic BMW X4 xDrive20i Sports Activity Coupe SUV, which is powered by a 2.0-liter, 4-cyclinder engine and equipped with Mocha Nevada Leather Interior. The car is headed to a customer in Fuyang, China.

The latest expansion is the second large growth investment made in the plant since the facility opened in 1994.

Last year, BMW Manufacturing Company said the export value of the vehicles from the Spartanburg plant reached $9.8 billion. The plant currently employs 8,000 people, and with the addition of the X7 line, the employee count should increase to 8,800.

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