The X7 is coming to the Upstate.
BMW will make a $1 billion investment by 2017 to expand its Greer facility to begin manufacture of the carmaker’s new seven-seat SUV model, company and government officials announced Friday afternoon at a press conference at the BMW Manufacturing facility in Spartanburg County. The expansion will boost the plant’s production capacity by 50 percent to 450,000.
Company Chairman Norbert Reithofer was joined by Manfred Erlacher, president of BMW Manufacturing, U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and Gov. Nikki Haley at the announcement.
“We love Germany, but South Carolina is now the BMW capital of the world,” said Haley.
According to a site plan BMW filed with the Spartanburg County Planning and Development Department, the manufacturer will build a 675,000-square-foot body shop at the facility off Interstate 85.
The plans also show a 371-space expansion of an existing employee parking lot, a new road onto the campus and space for a future “energy center.”
The expansion is expected to add 800 jobs. The X7 could reach the market in late 2017.
Look for full details on this announcement in the next edition of the Upstate Business Journal.
