BMW Group to build EVs in North America

BMW Group continues the roll-out of its electromobility plan with a new investment in the US to expand Plant Spartanburg and the company’s manufacturing footprint in North America. BMW Group Chairman of the Board of Management, Oliver Zipse, has announced US$1.7 billion worth of investment in its US operations, including $1 billion to prepare for the production of electric vehicles at the company’s existing US manufacturing facility in South Carolina.

A $700 million corpus will be used to build a new high-voltage battery assembly facility in nearby Woodruff, South Carolina.  By 2030, BMW Group will build and sell at least six fully electric models in the US. 

Zipse was joined at Plant Spartanburg by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, Secretary of Commerce Harry Lightsey III, Chairman of Spartanburg County Council Economic Development Committee David Britt, and Woodruff, SC Mayor Kenny Gist as he also announced an agreement to source next generation lithium-ion battery cells from Envision AESC, which will build a new plant in the state.

“For decades, Plant Spartanburg has been a cornerstone of the global success of the BMW Group. It is he home of the BMW X models that are so popular all over the world. Going forward, it will also be a major driver for our electrification strategy, and we will produce at least six fully electric BMW X models here by 2030. That means: The ‘Home of the X’ is also becoming the ‘Home of the Battery Electric Vehicle’,” said Zipse on Wednesday. “In addition, we can showcase BMW Group’s ‘local for local’ principle: Our newly developed sixth generation battery cells, which were specifically designed for the next generation electric vehicles, will be sourced here in South Carolina – where X goes electric.”

Envision AESC Battery Cell Plant in SC to Supply Plant Spartanburg. 

BMW Group will purchase battery cells from Envision AESC, a company that will build a new battery cell factory in South Carolina. Envision will produce newly developed round lithium-ion battery cells, which were specifically designed for the sixth generation of BMW eDrive technology and will be used in the next generation electric vehicles. The annual capacity of the battery cell factory will be up to 30 GWh.