BMW debuted the newest BMW X3 today, June 21, at a ceremony celebrating 30 years of manufacturing in Spartanburg County and the opening of a new $200 million press shop that will stamp sheet metal part for the new model.
The new press shop, announced in March 2022 , creates 200 new jobs at the plant that already employs about 11,000 workers.
The BMW X3 Sports Activity Vehicle will be assembled at BMW Manufacturing in Greer. The press shop will stamp out hang-on parts such as the vehicle’s doors, fenders, lift gate and exterior body sides, according to a news release.
“After 30 years of successful operation, we are further expanding our commitment,” Milan Nedeljkovic, member of the board of management of parent company BMW AG, said in the news release. “At the end of 2026, assembly of all-electric sports activity vehicles will start here in Spartanburg. This is a further step toward strengthening our global resilience.”
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By 2030, the BMW Group will assemble at least six fully electric models at the site, the release stated. The high-voltage batteries for the future BEVs from Spartanburg will come from Woodruff, where BMW is building an assembly plant for sixth-generation batteries.
“The advanced stamping processes on our new press line will ensure the highest quality, efficiency and consistency in body shop parts for our customers,” Robert Engelhorn, president and CEO of BMW Manufacturing, said in the release. “Having this press shop onsite fits the BMW Group’s local-for-local strategy where we produce major parts at the location where we need them.”
The new shop includes more than 200 new jobs in careers such as tool and die technicians as well as electrical and mechanical maintenance for automated machinery, the release said. Dozens of workers trained in shops in Swindon in the United Kingdom and in Leipzig, Germany.
During the ceremony, Engelhorn and Randy Watson, regional vice president of the Southern Region for BMW of North American, introduced the fourth-generation BMW X3, one of the company’s best selling vehicles in the country and worldwide. More than 1.7 million BMW X3s have been assembled at Plant Spartanburg since 2010.
The plant has assembled more than 6.7 million BMWs in the 30 years since production began.
This story will be updated.
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