• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • Founder of Spartan Diesel Technologies Faces a Year in Jail for Selling Diesel Defeat Devices
  • What Costs More: New Car or Rent? The $1K a Month Car Payment Hit’s New Highs
  • The Rearview Mirror: The End of the Road for Route 66
  • Here We Go Again: Automakers Report June Sales Decline
  • Recession or Not, U.S. Car Market is in For a Big Boom
  • Hyundai Slashing Passenger Car Line-up — Again
  • Tesla, Maserati and Genesis Owner Loyalty Rising
  • Tesla Market Share Set to Collapse as EV Competition Heats Up, Predicts Leading Analyst
  • Nissan Planning to Drop Titan After 2024
  • New NHTSA Chief Ready to Crack Down on Wayward Self-Driving Technology
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe Overland
    • A Week With: 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan SE R-Line Black
    • First Drive: 2023 Cadillac Lyriq
    • First Drive: 2022 Ford Bronco Everglades Edition
    • A Week With: 2022 Mazda3 2.5 S AWD Hatchback
    • First Drive: 2023 Honda HR-V
    • First Drive: 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor
    • A Week With: 2022 GMC Terrain AT4 AWD
    • A Week With: 2022 Cadillac Escalade Sport
    • First Drive: 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automakers > BMW’s South Carolina Plant Produces 5 Millionth Vehicle

        BMW’s South Carolina Plant Produces 5 Millionth Vehicle

        The BMW X5 M Competition is staying on-site.

        Michael Strong
        Michael Strong , Managing Editor
        June 11, 2020
        BMW’s 5 millionth vehicle produced in the U.S. is a Toronto Red Metallic BMW X5 M Competition equipped with a 617-horsepower M TwinPower Turbo V-8 engine.

        BMW’s big gamble in the U.S. 26 years ago continues paying off with the most recent “win” being the 5 millionth vehicle built that rolled off the line at its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

        The milestone vehicle is a Toronto Red Metallic BMW X5 M Competition equipped with a 617-horsepower M TwinPower Turbo V-8 engine, Silverstone Full Merino Leather interior and 21/22-inch M Star-spoke bi-color wheels.

        If you’re wondering where in the world – Spartanburg is the only plant on the planet that builds the X5 –the historic SAV is going, it’s staying on-site. Due to its significance, the X5 M Competition will remain at the factory, becoming part of the BMW historic collection.

         

        ( Read our review of the best BMW Extended Warranty options)

        (BMW confirms China-built iX3 will launch by end of 2020.)

        “You cannot be successful in business if you do not have great products and great people. This BMW X5 M Competition is a symbol of the success of our products and the commitment and dedication of our associates and supplier network,” said Knudt Flor, president and CEO of BMW Manufacturing. “Every BMW X5 in the world comes from Plant Spartanburg. We are proud to call South Carolina home!”

        BMW kept its the first vehicle it produced, a white 318i sedan and the 5 million, an X5 M Competition.

        The plant is has exported more than 70% of its production to buyers outside of the U.S. for the last decade. It produces the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7. At one time, it was the only plant in the world that produced BMW’s sport-activity vehicles.

        The 5 millionth vehicle is an impressive marker for a plant that was considered a massive risk more than a quarter century ago. When the automaker determined it would build a plant in the U.S., it was flooded with appeals from more than 100 locations across the country.

        (

        After whittling it down to a dozen potential locations, Bernd Pischetrieder, who was in charge of BMW’s manufacturing operations at the time and would later become CEO, and a couple of other executives traveled to the U.S. incognito to get a better feel for the areas in contention, the former CEO once told TheDetroitBureau.com.

        (BMW drops $10M to double battery production at its SC plant.)

        He said they wanted to see what it would like to live in each area, gauging the quality of life as well as the location’s viability as a manufacturing site. They were afraid to talk too loudly in each of the places they visited, he told TheDetroitBureau.com several years back, because they didn’t want to give away that they were German and attract unnecessary attention.

        BMW’s big gamble in the U.S. paid off as it has produced more than 5 million vehicles at the South Carolina plant.

        The site was initially expected to produce about 70,000 to 80,000 units annually when it opened in late 1994. The first vehicle built was a white 318i sedan, which is also in the company’s historic collection. In the more than two decades since the company’s invested $10.6 billion in the site, which has been expanded six times and now encompasses more than 7 million square feet of space.

        In 2019, it produced more than 411,000 vehicles, and led the nation in automotive exports by value for the sixth consecutive year, with a total export value of approximately $9.6 billion.

        “More than half of the BMW vehicles we sell in the U.S. are built right here in the U.S., so we cannot overstate the importance of Plant Spartanburg to our sales network,” said Bernhard Kuhnt, president and CEO, BMW of North America.

        (BMW: The leading US exporter of new vehicles.)

        “BMW Group has long considered the United States to be our second home and we are proud to say that the U.S. is in fact home to the biggest BMW plant in the world. We congratulate our colleagues on this historic achievement.”

        Recently Published
        Spartan Diesel Tech coal roller one

        Founder of Spartan Diesel Technologies Faces a Year in Jail for Selling Diesel Defeat Devices

        Yesterday
        February car sales

        What Costs More: New Car or Rent? The $1K a Month Car Payment Hit’s New Highs

        Yesterday

        The Rearview Mirror: The End of the Road for Route 66

        July 02, 2022

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2022
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: