BMW Group Plant Spartanburg in the US state of South Carolina has doubled its capacity for production of high-voltage batteries. The plant’s own battery facility now produces the new fourth-generation batteries. These are intended for the plug-in hybrid models of the new BMW X5 and the future BMW X3, also produced in Spartanburg.
Michael Nikolaides, Senior Vice President Engines and Electrified Drivetrains, BMW Group state that the BMW Group have invested around ten million US dollars in a new battery assembly line and expanded the area to more than 8,000 square metres. This means BMW Group could double the number of batteries produced if needed to meet market request.
Assembly Line
The new-fangled assembly line will be able to produce different types of fourth-generation batteries to serve the growing range of electrified vehicles locally. These batteries are based on a new technology concept that further enhances their performance.
More than 120 people will be employed in battery production at Plant Spartanburg by the end of 2019, having completed a comprehensive training programme to acquire the technological know-how needed for battery production.
Knudt Flor, President and CEO, BMW Manufacturing, Co., LLC state that his outfit has produced batteries on site at Plant Spartanburg since 2015, making the BMW Group a pioneer for electromobility in the United States of America. In the past four years, the plant’s battery assembly team has produced a total of more than 45,000 batteries.
Between 2015 and 2018, BMW Group Plant Spartanburg built the first series produced plug-in hybrid vehicle, the BMW X5 xDrive40e (combined fuel consumption: 3,3 l/100km; combined power consumption: 15,3 kWh/100km ; combined CO2-emission: 77 g/km), for the core BMW brand.
The start of production for the new BMW X5 xDrive45e (combined fuel consumption: 2,0-1,7 l/100km; combined power consumption: 23,5-20,3 kWh/100km; combined CO2-emission: 47-39 g/km) will be in August 2019; production of the BMW X3 xDrive30e (combined fuel consumption: from 2,4 l/100 km; combined power consumption: from 22,7 kWh/100 km; combined CO2-emission: from 56 g/km; provisional figures) will get underway in December.
Knudt Flor added that the BMW X5 and BMW X3 are currently among the top-selling BMW models in the US. We expect their plug-in hybrid variants to be just as popular with customers.
