The BMW Group announced on June 23, 1992, that South Carolina would be the site of its first complete manufacturing facility outside of Germany. The corporation committed to investing $600 million at the time, hiring 2,000 employees by the year 2000, and luring at least nine suppliers to the state. It took a record-breaking 23 months from site groundbreaking to the first car being produced, making it the quickest factory start-up in automotive history.
After more than two decades, the BMW Group has invested close to $12 billion and the facility has undergone five significant expansions. With more than 40 direct Tier 1 suppliers based in South Carolina and more than 300 suppliers nationwide, there are more than 11,000 jobs on-site.
In order to get the factory ready for new iterations of the BMW X model family, the BMW Group announced in 2017 an extra investment of $600 million. Since the plant’s opening, this is the sixth significant expansion.
More than 5 million automobiles have been produced at the company since it began operations in 1994. At the moment, BMW Manufacturing makes more than 1,500 vehicles per day, with 70% of its output going overseas. The plant manufactures the BMW X4, X4 M, X6, and X6 M Sports Activity Coupes, as well as the X3, X3 M, X5, X5 M, and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles.
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In 2021, BMW Manufacturing Sets a New Record for Production.
BMW Manufacturing in Spartanburg, South Carolina, broke its own production record in 2021 by churning out 433,810 BMW X cars. This surpasses the previous record of 411,620 units set in 2019 and represents a 20 percent increase over output from the previous year. Additionally, with roughly 70,000 units shipped, the plant manufactured a record amount of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in 2017.
According to Dr. Robert Engelhorn, president and CEO of BMW Manufacturing, “the fact that the Plant Spartanburg team set a production record during a very unexpected year is a credit to the commitment and adaptability of our associates.” “Our associates continue to produce high-quality goods that are highly sought after by our clients worldwide.”
The South Carolina plant produced 400,000+ units for the fourth straight year in 2021. Additionally in 2015 (400,904 units), 2016 (411,171), and 2019 this milestone was reached (411,620). Below is a breakdown of production in 2021 by model:
- BMW X3: 113,831 BMW X3 M: 4,418
- BMW X4: 52,935 BMW X4 M: 2,555
- BMW X5: 165,704 BMW X5 M: 4,976
- 35,421 BMW X6s; 3,184 BMW X6 Ms
- BMW X7: 50,724
Around 70,000 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles were sent to clients all over the world last year, which resulted in a 48 percent rise in the number of electrified vehicles produced at the BMW Plant Spartanburg. Over 30,000 X3 xDrive30e vehicles were produced in 2021, compared to 39,883 X5 xDrive45e vehicles.
According to Dr. Engelhorn, “Electric mobility is turning into a growth driver and success factor for the organization.” “The electrification goal of the BMW Group has the full backing of our plant. We are eager to expand the Plant Spartanburg family of X vehicles by including the brand-new BMW XM. The BMW XM, the first high-performance plug-in hybrid car in the BMW M lineup, will go into series production in late 2022.”
BMW Manufacturing made a substantial contribution to the company’s 2021 success in the U.S. sales market. 53.4 percent of all BMW brand sales in the US last year, or 179,840 vehicles, came from Plant Spartanburg. The BMW X3 and BMW X5 were the two BMW models that sold the most in America.
The BMW Group has made around $11.9 billion in improvements to its South Carolina facility since 1992. The largest BMW Group factory in the world, BMW Manufacturing turns out more than 1,500 vehicles every day. More than two-thirds of the factory’s automobiles are exported to about 125 countries around the world. It has been the largest value exporter from the United States for seven straight years. The model lineup consists of two plug-in hybrid electric vehicle X models, four Motorsport X models, and five of the best-selling BMW X vehicles. More than 11,000 people work at the factory, which has a production capacity of up to 450,000 vehicles.
sustainable manufacturing.
A project to test a novel biofuel intended to improve the sustainability of ship transportation is one in which the production logistics is taking part. Initial findings indicate that CO2 emissions can be reduced by up to 90%. Sulfur oxide’s proportion has also been significantly decreased.
It is 23 meters broad and 140 meters long, and it is turquoise blue. The transport ship M/V Autosky is now traveling between Zeebrugge, Belgium, and Santander, Spain, at a speed of about 20 knots. Additionally, up to 2,000 vehicles—mostly from the BMW Group—are on board. As a result, the ship operated by the Norwegian shipping firm United European Car Carriers (UECC) is a crucial link in the value chain for which the automaker accepts environmental liability.
In fact, delivering goods on ships like the M/V Autosky is a sustainable method. However, just 4% of the greenhouse gases we produce globally are related to shipping. By 2050, the percentage might dramatically rise.
Ocean shipping is also heavily utilized by the BMW production logistics, with daily shipments of almost 7,000 containers containing 31 million parts. Every day, thousands of BMW Group vehicles are “at sea.” Even if this may only represent a small portion of the shipments now being carried out on global marine trade routes, the company nonetheless hopes to “display its colors” in the field of environmentally friendly sea transportation.
Therefore, the BMW Group is currently evaluating the actual application of a biofuel (Bio Fuel Oil) on cargo vessels in association with UECC and the GoodShipping Program: By using this biofuel, CO2 emissions are cut by 80 to 90%. Additionally, the amount of sulphur oxide is significantly reduced. The usage of this fuel on trips taken by the M/V Autosky is anticipated to result in the BMW Group saving more than 400 tons of carbon emissions during the initial three-month trial period alone.
Importantly, Bio Fuel Oil (BFO) satisfies the technical specifications for conventional ship engines when utilized exclusively. BFO is made from verified resources and is produced by the Dutch business GoodFuels, a pioneer in the sustainable biofuel industry. In particular, this includes leftover or waste goods like the old frying oil in this instance.
The BMW Group’s participation in continuing our trial on our ro-ro vessel M/V Autosky should, therefore, send a message to the automotive industry that the means to decarbonize are readily available and that our vessels are equipped to meet this most important of challenges for the shipping industry, emphasizes Daniel Gent, Energy and Sustainability Manager, UECC. Transportation logistics have a significant carbon impact, so Anniek Sluis, Growth Captain of the GoodShipping Program, says: “The leadership shown by BMW Group to proactively take steps to decarbonize – and recognize that solutions are available – should act as a call for others in the sector to join us on this journey.”
The BMW Group joined the “Getting to Zero Coalition” last year, becoming the first automaker in history to do so. The objective is to assist in decarbonizing global shipping.
BMW facility in South Carolina records production in 2019
BMW Manufacturing in Spartanburg has led the country in automotive exports by value for the fifth year in a row, despite a fall in production in 2018.
BMW’s Spartanburg County plant in South Carolina produced more automobiles in 2019 than ever before, reversing a three-year output slump.
According to a press statement, the facility continued to be the largest by volume in BMW’s global network in 2019, producing 411,620 SUVs. This beats the plant’s previous record from 2016 by 449 units.
According to Knudt Flor, president and chief executive officer of BMW Manufacturing, “the past three years have been among the most challenging in the history of Plant Spartanburg.” “I’m pleased of our team’s dedication to providing our customers with vehicles of the highest caliber. The model lineup from our plant is current and well-liked all across the world.”
It might be demanding and difficult to introduce new models and maintain them overall, according to DiIanni.
Output of the X3 fell by about 30,000 between 2018 and 2019, but X5 production increased by 24,000 at the Spartanburg factory. According to DiIanni, the X3 and X5 models are the most popular ones in the United States.
The BMW facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina, manufactures up to 1,500 cars each day, or about half of all BMWs sold in the United States.
According to the statement, the plant has a 450,000 vehicle production capability.
According to BMW media communications specialist Steve Wilson, “technically we are at full capacity.” “For this plant, 411,000 is quite an accomplishment.”
Global Car Production by Hour, Day, and Year
The amount of automobiles produced globally per hour, day, and year has been figured out by Leasing Options. Additionally, it lists the automakers that sell the most vehicles globally.
To see the interactive map, go here, or continue reading to learn what the study found.
With nearly 8.5 million vehicles sold in 2020, Toyota was by far the most popular automaker. That amounts to around 20,000 cars sold each day and 1,000 per hour! Additionally, they outsold Volkswagen’s competition by 3.4 million units, which works out to slightly more than 10,000 additional sales daily and nearly 400 extra every hour.
Toyota sold 7.4 million more vehicles last year than Mazda, which came in tenth. which translates to 850 more each hour and 20.4 thousand more per day.
As you can see from our top 10 list above, Mercedes-Benz defeated BMW and Audi in the race for executive car supremacy in 2020, selling over 200,000 more vehicles than each and about 500,000 more than Audi.
In certain respects, China produced the most passenger automobiles in 2020. With almost to 20 million vehicles manufactured in 2017, the nation outproduced Japan, the second-highest manufacturer in the globe with close to 7 million vehicles.
To break it down even further, China produced 13 million more automobiles annually than Japan. which translates to an increase of 35.7 thousand every day and about 1.5 thousand per hour.
When you divide the total number of cars produced into smaller timestamps, the feat becomes even more astonishing.
- Annually: 19,994,081
- A month equals 1,666,173
- Weekly = 384,501
- daily = 54,778
- Hourly = 2,282
- 38 per minute
- 0.6 per second
According to reports, 55,834,456 passenger automobiles would be built in 2020. Due to the effect COVID 19 had on the automotive industry, that number was significantly lower than in prior years. According to Statista’s Research Department, the number of cars produced in 2020 decreased by almost 15% from the previous year.
Around the world, 152,971 passenger automobiles were reportedly created each day in 2020. This is a rather astounding amount, especially when you consider Toyota in particular, which produced 23,814 brand-new automobiles every single day throughout the world. That’s around 15% of the daily production of passenger cars!
Every hour, about 6,374 passenger automobiles are made throughout the world. China leads the pack among all the nations, creating slightly under 2,300 each and every hour of the day. That’s roughly seven times as many passenger automobiles as are produced jointly in the UK and the USA.
Every minute, 106 passenger automobiles are made in the world. The top three automobile manufacturers are Toyota, Volkswagen, and Nissan, which together account for 34 of the 106 vehicles manufactured—or slightly under one-third of all vehicles produced each minute.
BMW’s presence in the US
The “Stars and Stripes” X5 is shown at the BMW Zentrum (visitor center) at the Spartanburg facility (E53).
Since 1956, BMW vehicles have been legally sold in the US, and since 1994, they have also been produced here. In 1975, the first BMW dealership in the US opened its doors. BMW ranked as the 12th best-selling brand in the US in 2016.
With a current production rate of almost 1,500 automobiles per day, the BMW manufacturing facility in Greer, South Carolina, has the greatest production volume among all BMW facilities globally. The Spartanburg facility manufactures the SUV models X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7.
BMW’s North American businesses include include sales, marketing, design, and financial services operations in the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Latin America, in addition to the South Carolina manufacturing unit. BMW’s North American headquarters are situated in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, at 300 Chestnut Ridge Road. Dublin, Ohio serves as the company’s North American headquarters for its sizable financial services subsidiary, which is in charge of captive lending for BMW automotive, BMW Motorsport, and Rolls-Royce vehicles when customers choose to lease the cars or decide to finance them directly through the business.