BMW U.S. manufacturing boss Robert Engelhorn is staring down a big challenge with global ramifications.
Engelhorn is orchestrating a $1.7 billion upgrade to bring the automaker’s largest factory, near Spartanburg, South Carolina, into the electric era. At the same time, he must ensure the plant’s global output of high-demand crossovers runs smoothly in the process.
It’s akin to upgrading an aircraft engine midflight.
The new investment is the largest single investment at the plant here, Engelhorn told Automotive News on the sidelines of an event attended by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham.
The ambitious project will position the 30-year-old factory as a production powerhouse for next-generation BMW crossovers — a segment that has lifted the German marque to the top of the U.S. luxury sales charts for the past three years.
BMW Group CEO Oliver Zipse said the investment puts the South Carolina plant on the “EV map” and is “indicative of where the industry and BMW is headed.”
BMW will invest $1 billion to retool the 7 million-square-foot factory to build at least six electric vehicles by 2030. An additional $700 million will go to create a battery pack assembly operation in nearby Woodruff, South Carolina.
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