BMW has announced that it’s investing $1.7 billion in its U.S. operations to build electric vehicles here. BMW plans to invest $1 billion to prepare for the production at its existing plant in South Carolina, and $700 million to build a new high-voltage battery assembly facility in nearby Woodruff, SC.
By 2030 BMW Group will build at least six fully electric models in the U.S.
“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.”
For the new battery plant, BMW is partnering with Envision AESC to supply batteries for Plant Spartanburg. The annual capacity for the new battery cell plant is up to 30 GWh. BMW says that its new batteries will increase energy density by more than 20 percent, improve charging speed by up to 30 percent and enhance range by up to 30 percent.
CO2 emissions from the battery cell production will also be reduced by up to 60 percent through the partial use of secondary lithium, cobalt, and nickel material, as well as renewable energy for production.
