BMW had a constant growth this year, but it was not enough to hold its position as number one manufacturer of premium cars in 2016. Mercedes managed to grab that position by only 80.000 units.
Even so, the production of BMW cars reached an all time record. For the third consecutive year, BMW Manufacturing recorded its largest annual production, producing 411,171 during 2016. This production record confirms the South Carolina plant will remain the largest plant by volume in the BMW Group global production network.
In addition, the plant exported 287,700 vehicles last year – 70 percent of its total production. 2016 marked the second time the South Carolina plant has topped 400,000 units. In 2015, production totaled 400,904 units. A breakdown of production by model looks like this: X3 – 151,298, X4 – 56,404, X5 – 165,377, X6 – 38,092.
BMW Manufacturing will continue construction and installation of tooling around the plant site as it prepares for the future and adds a fifth model to the vehicle line-up – the all-new BMW X7. Construction projects include a new body shop totaling more than 1.2 million square feet and an expansion of the X5/X6 Assembly hall by 200,000 square feet. Installation of special tooling and body shop robots will take place during 2017.
BMW began manufacturing vehicles in the United States in 1994 and has since produced more than 3.7 million vehicles for the world. BMW Group has invested more than $7.4 billion in the South Carolina plant. Currently, BMW Manufacturing produces more than 1,400 vehicles each day and exports 70 percent of its production to 140 countries around the world.
