BMW Group intends to invest $1.7 billion in its U.S. operations to assemble electric vehicles and batteries, the organization reported Wednesday.
The investment will incorporate $1 billion to plan for production of EVs at the automaker’s current Spartanburg factory in South Carolina, and $700 million for a new high-voltage battery-assembly facility in nearby Woodruff.
The German automaker hopes to create somewhere around six completely electric models in the U.S. by 2030. The Spartanburg facility, where the investment declaration occurred, as of now produces BMW “X” SUVs and lithium-ion battery modules for its two plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Production of the new hybrid-electric BMW XM is expected to start later this year.
″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,” BMW Chair Oliver Zipse said in a release.
BMW on Wednesday likewise declared a deal to buy battery cells from Japan-based Envision AESC, which will produce a new battery cell factory in South Carolina to supply the BMW plants.
The Envision AESC facility is expected to have annual production capacity of 30 gigawatt hours — in accordance with plans of different automakers and battery providers for U.S. plants, BMW said.
A representative for Envision AESC said the new plant is expected to be a multibillion investment, however declined to determine a precise amount. She said a location for the facility is expected to be declared before the year’s over.
In April, the organization declared plans to spend $2 billion to fabricate a second U.S. plant in Kentucky. Its first plant in Tennessee supplies Nissan Motor. Its other significant client is BMW in the U.S., with conversations progressing with “a number of global automotive manufacturers and partners,” the representative said.
BMW has already declared four extra battery cell factories will be implicit Europe and China to meet its demand for next-generation battery cells.
The declarations are the most recent of a few late multibillion-dollar investments in U.S production of EVs and batteries in the midst of tightening emissions regulations and legislation to encourage domestic manufacturing.
Automakers are likewise confronting stricter sourcing rules that are part of the Inflation Reduction Act and the US Mexico-Canada Agreement, previously the North American Free Trade Agreement. The two policies expanded necessities for domestically sourced vehicle parts and materials to keep away from tariffs or qualify for financial incentives.
