BMW plans $1 billion expansion in South Carolina
Friday, March 28, 2014
GREER, S.C. (AP) — BMW will build its new larger SUV in South Carolina, investing $1 billion in its plant in Greer over the next two years.
The German automaker announced Friday it will create another line at the plant, producing the X7, a larger SUV with three rows of seats similar to a Cadillac Escalade. The company will also make the X4, a sportier version of the X3 coupe and plans to build a plug-in hybrid version of its smaller X5 SUV.
BWM says it will hire 800 additional workers, bringing total employment at the plant to 8,800 people. The Greer plant will make 450,000 vehicles a year by 2016, becoming the company's largest.
BMW opened its South Carolina plant 20 years ago, ushering in a wave of foreign automakers building Southern plants.
