BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina plant remains the factory with the highest production numbers for the brand, the company said this week. “This confirms the South Carolina plant will remain the largest plant by volume in the BMW Group’s global production network,” according to a company news release.
In its 25th year, BMW Manufacturing produced a record 411,620 X models in 2019, exceeding its previous record by 449 units. Last year was the third time that BMW Plant Spartanburg broke the 400,000 mark (2015: 400,904 and 2016: 411,171).
By model, here’s what the South Carolina factory built in 2019:
- BMW X3: 115,088
- BMW X4: 65,557
- BMW X5: 161,096
- BMW X6: 17,260
- BMW X7: 52,619
BMW Manufacturing has launched five BMW X models, four Motorsport X models and two electrified vehicles from that plant since 2017. Last April the company released the X3 M and X4 M, followed in August by the third-generation X6, and second-generation X5 plug-in hybrid. In December the facility produced the third-generation X5 M and X6 M, as well as the first iteration of the X3 plug-in hybrid.
“The past three years have been among the most challenging in the history of Plant Spartanburg,” Knudt Flor, president and CEO of BMW Manufacturing said. “I’m proud of the commitment by our team of dedicated associates to deliver premium quality vehicles for our customers. Our plant’s model portfolio is fresh and popular around the world.”
The company gives the South Carolina factory props for a big chunk of BMW’s sales. Last year, the 159,277 X models from Spartanburg that were sold in the United States, accounted for 49 percent of all BMW brand U.S. sales. The top two BMWs sold in America were the BMW X3 and BMW X5.
Since 1994, BMW has produced over 4.8 million BMWs in the U.S. and invested more than $10.6 billion USD in Plant Spartanburg. The Spartanburg facility currently produces more than 1,500 vehicles each day, BMW noted, with about 70 percent of those exported to more than 125 global markets. The factory has a production capacity of 450,000 vehicles and employs more than 11,000 people.
