BMW Invests $1.7 Billion In Electric Cars
On October 19 the German automaker BMW announced plans to invest $1.7 billion in the production of electric vehicles in the United States.
“This is the largest targeted investment we have ever made,” said BMW Group CEO Oliver Zipse.
The investment will include $1 billion in pre-production electric vehicles at the automaker’s existing Spartanburg plant in South Carolina and $700 million in a new high-voltage battery assembly plant in nearby Woodruff.
The German automaker expects to produce at least six all-electric models in the US by 2030. The Spartanburg plant where the investment was announced is currently producing BMW’s “X” SUVs and lithium-ion battery modules for its two plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Production of the new BMW XM hybrid-electric is expected to begin later this year.
Consulting firm LMC Automotive expects electric vehicles to make up 5.6% of U.S. sales this year, rising to 13.5% by 2025 and 36.4% by 2030.
