BMW Builds Five Millionth Car in USA

BMW has just produced its five millionth vehicle in the USA, in its sprawling factory in Spartanburg, North Carolina, which produces some half-million vehicles a year, mostly for sale in the USA, but also for export, including to Germany, where BMW is based.

Car number five million is a Toronto Red Metallic BMW X5 M Competition equipped with a 617-horsepower M TwinPower Turbo V-8 engine, Silverstone Full Merino Leather interior and 21/22-inch M Star-spoke bi-color wheels.

Due to its historic significance, this X5 M Competition will remain at the factory and become part of the BMW historic collection.

The factory opened in 2006.

Every BMW X5 in the world is produced in Spartanburg, which also produces the X3, X4, X6 and X7 models and the Z4 Roadster, both for the U.S. market and for export around the world.   Nearly 70 percent of the plant’s total production was exported from 2010 – 2019.

In 2019 alone, Plant Spartanburg led the USA in automotive exports by value for the sixth consecutive year, with a total export value of approximately $9.6 billion.

BMW has spent nearly $11 Billion on the factory, which has been expanded six times to more than seven million square feet. The plant employs more than 11,000 people, and supports many thousands more via local restaurants, retail shops and office supply stores and others supplying goods and services to the area.

BMW Production Milestones

1 Millionth BMW – February 28, 2006 – Z4 M Roadster

• 1.5 Millionth BMW – September 8, 2009 – BMW X6 xDrive35i

2 Millionth BMW – January 12, 2012 – BMW X3 xDrive35i

• 2.5 Millionth BMW – September 17, 2013 – BMW X5 xDrive50i

3 Millionth BMW – March 24, 2015 – BMW X5 M

• 3.5 Millionth BMW – May 18, 2016 – BMW X4 xDrive20i

4 Millionth BMW – September 8, 2017 – BMW X3 xDrive M40i

• 4.5 Millionth BMW – March 7, 2019 – BMW X7 xDrive40

5 Millionth BMW – June 4, 2020 – BMW X5 M Competition

“You cannot be successful in business if you do not have great products and great people. This BMW X5 M Competition is a symbol of the success of our products and the commitment and dedication of our associates and supplier network,” said Knudt Flor, president and CEO of BMW Manufacturing. “Every BMW X5 in the world comes from Plant Spartanburg. We are proud to call South Carolina home!”

“More than half of the BMW vehicles we sell in the U.S. are built right here in the U.S., so we cannot overstate the importance of Plant Spartanburg to our sales network,” said Bernhard Kuhnt, president and CEO, BMW of North America.

“BMW Group has long considered the United States to be our second home and we are proud to say that the U.S. is in fact home to the biggest BMW plant in the world.  We congratulate our colleagues on this historic achievement.”

“BMW changed the very fabric of our state’s economy when it decided to locate in South Carolina nearly three decades ago,” said Gov. Henry McMaster. “That this great company built its five millionth American-made vehicle in Spartanburg should be a source of great pride for our people and a reason for celebration. It’s one more example of South Carolinians sharing in the success of a company that has become an integral part of our state because of its dedication to our people.”

The South Carolina plant also celebrated two important milestones last year – 25 years of production and a record year of 411,620 vehicles built. In 2019, Plant Spartanburg led the nation in automotive exports by value for the sixth consecutive year, with a total export value of approximately $9.6 billion. Nearly 70 percent of the plant’s total production was exported from 2010 – 2019.

BMW Manufacturing is the global center of competence for BMW Sports Activity Vehicles and Coupes. Over the years, through continuous investment which now totals more than $10.6 billion, the factory has been expanded six times to more than 7 million square feet. The plant employs more than 11,000 people who build BMW X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 models for the U.S. market and the world.

BMW is headquartered in Munich, Germany, my mother’s hometown.  Be sure to visit the BMW Museum there.