BMW accelerating South Carolina electric vehicle production with $1.7B investment
BMW, the largest US automotive exporter, has built more than six million vehicles in the country to date
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BMW is accelerating its U.S. electric vehicle production with a new $1.7 billion investment in South Carolina.
The German automaker said Wednesday that approximately $1 billion will go towards preparing its existing manufacturing facility in Greer, while the remaining $700 million will be used to build a new one million square foot electric battery plant in the nearby city of Woodruff.
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| BMWYY | NO DATA AVAILABLE | - | - | - |
Plant Spartanburg, which currently represents an investment of nearly $12 billion, has an annual capacity of up to 450,000 vehicles. The facility produces 11 vehicle models, including the BMW X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 sports activity vehicles, four BMW M models and two plug-in hybrid electric models. Production of the all-new hybrid-electric BMW XM will begin later this year.
BMW Plant Spartanburg, which currently represents an investment of nearly $12 billion, has an annual capacity of up to 450,000 vehicles.
The investment in the seven million-square-foot campus in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains could add an unspecified number of jobs to the more than 11,000 people currently working there. Meanwhile, the battery plant will employ around 300 people.
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In addition to the $1.7 billion investment, BMW has signed a deal with Envision AESC of Japan to supply lithium-ion battery cells for BMW's next generation electric vehicles.
Envision will build a new battery cell factory at an unspecified site in South Carolina, although the companies wouldn't say how many people will be hired. The annual capacity of Envision's battery cell factory will be up to 30 gigawatt hours.
The new cells will have a battery chemistry that will increase the amount of energy they can store by more than 20% and improve charging speed and enhance range by up to 30%. (BMW Group)
The new cells will have a battery chemistry that will increase the amount of energy they can store by more than 20% and improve charging speed and enhance range by up to 30%. They will be shipped to the Woodruff plant, where they will be assembled into battery packs for the EVs built at Plant Spartanburg.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
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| NSANY | NISSAN MOTOR CO. LTD. | 4.89 | -0.26 | -5.05% |
Envision has a U.S. factory in Smyrna, Tennessee, near a Nissan assembly plant, and it is building a plant in Kentucky.
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BMW, which has built more than six million vehicles in the United States to date, has been the largest automotive exporter from the U.S. by value for the past eight years.
The company currently offers two fully electric vehicles in the U.S. — the BMW iX sports activity vehicle and the BMW i4 Gran Coupe — and will bring its fully electric BMW i7 Sedan to market later this year.
An electric-powered BMW iX. (BMW Group)
By 2030, the company plans to build at least six fully electric models in the United States and make a minimum of 50% of its global sales battery electric vehicles.
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Electric vehicle wave
BMW isn't the only automaker ramping up its electric vehicle production.
Ford Motor, General Motors, Hyundai-Kia and VinFast have all said they will build electric vehicle assembly plants in the U.S. or retool older plants to manufacture EVs. In addition, Honda Motor, Ford, GM, Toyota, Hyundai-Kia, Chrysler parent Stellantis and VinFast of Vietnam have announced plans for a total of 11 U.S. battery plants.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMC | HONDA MOTOR CO. LTD. | 25.62 | -0.27 | -1.04% |
| F | FORD MOTOR CO. | 11.10 | 0.00 | 0.00% |
| GM | GENERAL MOTORS CO. | 55.49 | +0.70 | +1.29% |
| TM | TOYOTA MOTOR CORP. | 169.67 | -2.89 | -1.68% |
| STLA | STELLANTIS NV | 12.79 | +0.18 | +1.43% |
A new U.S. law, the Inflation Reduction Act, gives them even more incentive to build batteries in North America. It includes manufacturing tax credits, and a tax credit of up to $7,500 that could be used to defray the cost of purchasing an electric vehicle. But to qualify for the full credit, the electric vehicle must contain a battery built in North America with 40% of the metals mined or recycled on the continent.
Electric vehicle sales are expected to rise dramatically between now and 2030 in the U.S. and globally, but even at the start of the next decade, they will be just over one-third of U.S. new vehicle sales. The LMC Automotive consulting firm expects EVs to be 5.6% of U.S. sales this year, rising to 13.5% by 2025 and 36.4% in 2030.
The Associated Press contributed to this report