Carmaker BMWThe Upstate plant continued to be the country’s leading vehicle exporter in 2020, despite a coronavirus pandemic that temporarily closed the plant and hampered sales worldwide.
The Spartanburg County campus exported 218,820 sport utility vehicles and coupes worth more than $ 8.9 billion last year. Most of these vehicles – 189,000, or 86 percent – were exported through the Charleston Harbor. The rest was shipped through ports in Georgia and Florida.
China was the main foreign market for BMWs built by Palmetto State, accounting for 23.3% of exports, followed by Germany with 12.9%, South Korea with 7.8%, Canada with 6% and Russia with 5, 3%.
It was the seventh consecutive year that BMW led the country in vehicle exports in dollar value.
“Claiming first place once again for US automotive exports is a direct result of the commitment and dedication of the Spartanburg plant team during the challenging year of production in 2020,” Knudt Flower, president and CEO of BMW Manufacture, said in a statement.
BMW won the title despite a five-week stoppage last spring due to the coronavirus. The factory reopened on May 4 with a shift as BMW implemented new health procedures and slowly increased production. During the last half of 2020, the Upstate plant produced 218,000 vehicles – a record for six months of production.
In all, the Spartanburg County website built 361,365 vehicles last year. This represents a 12.2 percent drop from the record production of 411,620 cars in 2019, when BMW exported $ 9.6 billion in vehicles.
“When BMW announced more than 28 years ago the decision to locate the company’s first North American manufacturing operations in South Carolina, it was a real game changer for Palmetto State,” he said. Bobby Hitt, State Secretary of Commerce. “The fact that our state remains a leader in export sales of complete passenger vehicles, especially during a challenging year, is a reflection of the incredible commitment and partnership between BMW and South Carolina.”
BMWs made in Spartanburg County accounted for more than 29 percent of the $ 30.3 billion in goods exported by South Carolina in 2020. Finished vehicles were the state’s main export commodity last year, with nearly $ 12 billion – a number that also includes S60 sedans shipped to global markets by Volvo Cars campus near Ridgeville.
The BMW plant in Upstate produces about 1,500 vehicles a day and exports more than two-thirds of its cars to 125 countries. The factory – which employs more than 11,000 people – builds five model X SUVs, four Motorsport X models and two plug-in hybrids.
Talk to David Wren at 843-937-5550 or on Twitter at @David_Wren_