BMW to expand production at Spartanburg facility in US

BMW plans to expand its production capacity in the US by 50 per cent and introduce another new offroad model, Reuters reported.

According to BMW, in addition to the new X4 SUV, its US facility would produce a new X7 SUV.

The production capacity increase at Spartanburg, South Carolina to 450,000 cars by 2016 would make the facility, the luxury carmaker's largest factory, the company said.

The red X7, which was unveiled before a crowd of workers and dignitaries which included US commerce secretary Penny Pritzker, forms part of the company's strategy to help the German automaker cut its dependence on weak European markets that accounted for 44 per cent of group sales in 2013.

Increasing production with new models and greater manufacturing capacity raised BMW's stakes in the US, which is seen to be on the fast track to recovery to pre-2007 financial crisis levels, helped by the popularity of SUVs.

With the BMW X7, the company was developing another, larger X model, which would be produced at the plant, chief executive Norbert Reithofer said, explaining that customers had demanded such a vehicle from BMW, Reuters reported.

Reuters had reported last week that BMW planned to build the X7 in South Carolina.

Meanwhile, Columbia morning daily The State quoted Harald Kruger, the BMW board member in charge of global production, as saying the plant had  exceeded the automaker's expectations, after the company announced it would expand the plant for the fifth time in two decades.

BMW added the expansion would bring the plant's total employment to 8,800 and give the Spartnaburg plant more manufacturing capacity than any other BMW plant in the world.

The complex had emerged as the largest US exporter of vehicles to non-NAFTA countries, with about 70 per cent of products sold abroad, according to BMW.

The plant is already the automaker's global centre for the production of X vehicles, making various versions of the X3, X4, X5 and X6 and soon, the X7.

It remained unclear however, how much longer the site would continue to grow.

Kruger dropped hints yesterday that the Greer site might be close to reaching its limits.

Responding to a question whether the plant had enough room to grow in the future beyond yesterday's announcement, Kruger said the 50 per cent production boost to 450,000 vehicles a year was the equivalent of adding another plant.