COLUMBIA, S.C. — BMW Group announced plans to invest $1.7 billion to expand its operations in the Upstate of South Carolina, spending $1 billion to prepare for the production of electric vehicles in its Plant Spartanburg facility and $700 million to build a new high-voltage battery assembly facility in Woodruff. The expansion project is expected to bring 300 new jobs to the area.
The Woodruff site will encompass over one million square feet of manufacturing space and will produce the next generation batteries for fully electric vehicles.
Plant Spartanburg currently produces lithium-ion battery modules for the two plug-in hybrid electric vehicles built at the plant, the BMW X3 xDrive30e and BMW X5 xDrive45e. In 2021, nearly 70,000 electrified BMWs were built on-site. The plant also produces the BMW X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles and four BMW M models. Production of the all-new hybrid-electric BMW XM will begin later this year.
BMW's plan is for Plant Spartanburg to produce at least six fully electric BMW X models by 2030.
The German-based auto company has partnered with Envision AESC to build the new round lithium-ion battery factory to directly supply Plant Spartanburg. According to BMW, the new battery format will increase energy density by more than 20%, improve charging speed by up to 30% and enhance range by up to 30%. At the same time, the use of secondary material for raw materials – including lithium, cobalt and nickel, as well as renewable energy for production – CO2 emissions from cell production will be reduced by up to 60%.
Plant Spartanburg has been in operation for 28 years and represents an investment of nearly $12 billion, has more than 11,000 employees and has an annual capacity of up to 450,000 vehicles. To date. more than six million BMW vehicles have been built in South Carolina — for the U.S. and global markets.