BMW Manufacturing in Spartanburg has had a lot of reasons to celebrate lately.
Earlier in September, the plant produced its 6 millionth BMW vehicle, which was a java metallic green X6 M SUV, a performance vehicle boasting a 600-horsepower twin-turbo V-8.
On the heels of that milestone, the plant celebrated 30 years since its groundbreaking in Spartanburg on Sept. 30, 1992.
Now the plant will begin building its newest addition to its SUV fleet in December, the hybrid performance BMW XM. The production version was recently unveiled, and it will combine electric motors with a V-8 engine to boost performance and fuel economy.
The vehicle will have fuel economy of 176.6 mpg in the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test (a worldwide standard for power and economy testing) while making 653 horsepower — capable of taking the vehicle from zero to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds, BMW said. The vehicle is capable of an electric-only mode of approximately 55 miles. The XM is a celebration of another milestone — the Motorsport division’s 50th anniversary, according to BMW.
BMW’s Upstate legacy
Over the past 30 years, the plant has become BMW’s largest manufacturing facility, and since June 2020, it has built 1 million vehicles. In 2021, the plant produced a record 433,810 vehicles, and, according to BMW, the plant has shown no signs of slowing down in the first half of 2022.
“I’m incredibly proud of our associates and the resilience they’ve shown during this volatile time,” said Robert Engelhorn, president and CEO of BMW Manufacturing. “We have world-class people who build world-class vehicles.”
The plant was BMW’s first outside Germany, and it has become a huge generator of growth in the Upstate. Since 1992, BMW has invested $12 billion in its South Carolina operations, and 60 percent of the vehicles produced in the plant are shipped to 120 countries.
The plant employs approximately 11,000 people and generates thousands more jobs for suppliers in the region.
“When we turn a few shovels full of good Spartanburg County earth… it will be symbolic of a new era of quality focused squarely on the next century of progress and based on the South Carolina philosophy of taking care of our families and our children,” said South Carolina Gov. Carroll Campbell during the 1992 groundbreaking. “To the BMW family of associates around the world, I say welcome to our family.”
Production milestones
- 1 millionth BMW — Feb. 28, 2006 — Z4 M Roadster
- 2 millionth BMW — Jan. 12, 2012 — X3 xDrive 35i
- 3 millionth BMW — March 24, 2015 — X5 M
- 4 millionth BMW — Sept. 8, 2017 — X3 xDrive M40i
- 5 millionth BMW — June 4, 2020 — X5 M Competition
- 6 millionth BMW — Sept. 2., 2022 — X6 M
