BMW Manufacturing sets largest annual production in 2016

For the three times in a row, BMW Manufacturing sets its largest annual production with 411,171 X models produced in 2016. This production record confirms the South Carolina plant will remain the largest plant by volume in the BMW Group global production network. In addition, the plant exported 287,700 vehicles last year – 70 percent of its total production.

“Last year was a very successful year for Plant Spartanburg,” said Knudt Flor, President and CEO of BMW Manufacturing. “Our X models continue to be extremely popular worldwide, and I’m proud of the commitment shown by our team of dedicated associates to deliver premium quality vehicles for our customers.”

This is the second year that the South Carolina plant has produced more than 400,000 units annually. In 2015, there was a total of 400,904 units produced. Here’s a breakdown in models:

X3 – 151,298
X4 – 56,404
X5 – 165,377
X6 – 38,092

Last month, the Spartanburg Plant welcomed Knudt Flor as the seventh president and CEO of BMW Manufacturing. Flor has served 28 years with the BMW Group. He has worked in a variety of roles within the company and worldwide locations, including four years at Plant Spartanburg as Senior Manager Supplier and Assembly Quality Management. Most recently, Flor served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Quality for the BMW Group.

“This is a homecoming for me,” Flor said. “I enjoyed my four years in Spartanburg in the late 1990s, and I have been waiting for this opportunity to return. I’m eager to work with this dedicated team, and I’m excited about the future of this BMW plant.”

BMW Manufacturing will continue construction and installation of tooling around the plant site as it prepares for the future and adds a fifth model to the vehicle line-up – the all-new BMW X7. Construction projects include a new state-of-the-art body shop totaling more than 1.2 million square feet and an expansion of the X5/X6 Assembly hall by 200,000 square feet. Installation of special tooling and body shop robots will take place during 2017.

BMW began manufacturing vehicles in the United States in 1994 and has since produced more than 3.7 million vehicles for the world. BMW Group has invested more than $7.4 billion in the South Carolina plant. Currently, BMW Manufacturing produces more than 1,400 vehicles each day and exports 70 percent of its production to 140 countries around the world.