BMW Group expands U.S. plant in South Carolina

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Company to invest a further USD 900 million Around 300 new jobs for Spartanburg Two-millionth vehicle rolls off the assembly line Arndt announces X-model family expansion with BMW X4 Spartanburg/Munich. The BMW Group is expanding  capacity at its U.S. plant in Spartanburg. “We plan to invest  over the next three years nearly USD 900 million in…

  • Company to invest a further USD 900 million
  • Around 300 new jobs for Spartanburg
  • Two-millionth vehicle rolls off the assembly line
  • Arndt announces X-model family expansion with BMW X4

Spartanburg/Munich. The BMW Group is expanding  capacity at its U.S. plant in Spartanburg. “We plan to invest  over the next three years nearly USD 900 million in the Spartanburg  plant by 2014.

This will create 300 new jobs by the end of this year.  This will allow us to produce 350,000 units in Spartanburg in the mid  term,” says Frank-Peter Arndt, member of the Board of Management  of BMW AG, responsible for Production, in Spartanburg on Thursday. The  BMW Group already invested USD 750 million in the expansion of the  plant for production of the new BMW X3 between 2008 and 2010.

“This is in response to rising global demand for our BMW X  models and the expansion of the BMW X family to include the BMW  X4,” Arndt explains at a ceremony to celebrate production of the  two-millionth vehicle at the BMW plant in South Carolina since 1994.  The move will bring the BMW Group’s total investment in South  Carolina to nearly USD six billion.

The Governor of the State of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, speaks at  the ceremony, saying: “BMW has once again provided tremendous  evidence that South Carolina is a blueprint for significant economic  development success. The partnership between this company and our  State is an enduring example of how to attract, retain and grow  business to stimulate perpetual job creation.”

Production in Spartanburg reached new high in 2011

Last year, the BMW plant in Spartanburg produced 276,065 vehicles for  more than 130 markets around the world, representing an increase of  73% over the previous year. The BMW X3 also played a major role in  this positive development. Global sales of this highly-successful  model rose 156% in 2011 to reach a total of 117,944 vehicles.

More than 70% of the vehicles produced in Spartanburg (192,813) were  exported, making the BMW Group the largest automotive exporter to the  non-NAFTA countries.

Four expansions already at U.S. plant

Since it opened in 1994, the BMW plant in Spartanburg has already  undergone four expansions and produced six different BMW models (318i,  Z3, Z4, X5, X6, X3) and their variants. Employment has grown from 500  initially to more than 7,000 today.

Clean production

BMW’s Spartanburg plant is state-of-the-art in terms of  environmental protection. Advanced production processes have made  vehicle production even more environmentally-compatible: Over the past  five years, it was possible to lower energy consumption by 48%, halve  water consumption, reduce CO2 emissions by 44% and waste by 65% by  car. In 2010, for example, the Spartanburg plant generated almost 62  million kilowatt hours of electricity from a methane gas energy centre  located on the grounds of the facility and supplied by a local  landfill. This accounts for over 37% of the entire plant’s total  electrical demand.

USA largest market for BMW Group in 2011

The BMW Group is the leading manufacturer of premium automobiles in  the U.S., the world’s largest market for premium automobiles.  Last year, the BMW Group increased sales of its BMW and MINI brand  vehicles in the U.S. by almost 15% to reach a total of 305,418  vehicles. The American market was therefore the largest market for the  BMW Group in 2011.


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