For the ninth year in a row, BMW Manufacturing is the largest automotive exporter in the United States.
New data from the U.S. Department of Commerce shows that BMW vehicle exports totalled $9.6 billion (£8.75 billion) during 2022.
Among all the X-branded SUVs and SUV coupes produced at BMW’s huge facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina, some 227,029 cars were assigned for foreign markets.
Building to an electric future
Electrification was a major factor in BMW exports from Spartanburg last year, with a total of 69,200 plug-in hybrid models produced.
These included the first examples of the new XM SUV (pictured above) – the first M performance model with an electrified powertrain.
BMW has invested heavily in an electric future for its North American manufacturing site. A total of $1 billion (£825 million) has been committed to preparing Spartanburg for production of electric vehicles, with an additional $700 million (£575 million) to build a high-voltage battery assembly site in Woodruff, South Carolina.
Last year saw the six-millionth BMW leave the Spartanburg production line. The Java Green Metallic BMW X6 M will be kept at the factory and become part of a heritage collection.
Germany is BMW’s top export market
BMW exported South Carolina-built products through six different ports across the southern United States, with 17,000 cars distributed via rail.
During 2022, Germany became the top export market for Spartanburg vehicles, accounting for 15.5 percent of the total. China was second on 13.5 percent, followed by South Korea (12.8 percent), Canada (7.5 percent) and the UK (5.6 percent).
The Spartanburg plant is the largest BMW factory in the world, capable of churning out 1,500 new cars every day.
“Customers around the world continue to seek out premium quality BMWs made in South Carolina, and we are proud to be the largest automotive exporter by value for the past nine years,” said Dr Robert Engelhorn, president and CEO of BMW Manufacturing.
“Our success is due to the highly skilled and dedicated workforce at Plant Spartanburg. These achievements are significant and clearly reinforce BMW’s ongoing commitment to South Carolina and the United States.”
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