BMW now highest value car exporter in USA: Celebrating three million vehicles built
This week, German manufacturer BMW celebrated a production milestone – three million vehicles produced... in the USA.
The BMW Assembly Plant in Spartanburg South Carolina was opened in 1994 and now produces approximately 300,000 vehicles a year.
In 2014, over 250,000 of these were destined for other markets, and with a value of almost $12-billion (US$9.2-billion), this makes BMW the largest (by value) vehicle exporter in the United States.
Spartanburg currently produces BMW X3, X4, X5 and X6 cars - 7,756 of which arrived on Australian shores in 2014 - but other models have previously rolled off the line.
When the plant opened in 1994, the first car completed was a white E36 318i sedan. BMW also produced the Z3 and first generation Z4 sports cars in South Carolina.
The three-millionth North-American produced BMW was a Donnington Grey X5 M.
For interest, the one-millionth was an Interlagos Blue Z4 M and car two-million a Vermillion Red X3.
Last year, over 58,000 new USA-built cars were sold in Australia.