- BMW’s U.S. exports reached $9 billion in value during 2025.
- A company board member highlighted the role of free trade.
- Over 412,000 SUV and crossovers were built in Spartanburg.
BMW made headlines late last year when the FBI decided its fleet of Chevrolets had done enough and switched to Bimmers instead. Now the brand is back in the spotlight, as its U.S. manufacturing operations have once again topped the list as America’s largest automotive exporter by value in 2025.
That’s according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, with the majority of cars coming from BMW‘s Spartanburg plant in South Carolina: 3 million cars valued at $113 billion between 2014 and 2025. Last year alone, 200,000 of those were sent overseas with an export value of $9 billion.
Cars Bound For The US Too
The news surely helps justify the outlay, which has seen the BMW Group spend close to $16 billion on its South Carolina operations. In addition to the export headlines, more than 52 percent of BMW cars sold in the U.S. came from the Spartanburg plant.
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Last year, the plant, which focuses on SUVs and crossovers, was just under 50,000 of its 450,000 manufacturing capacity. Associates built 412,799 X models in 2025, marking the third-highest total in the plant’s over 30-year history and the seventh time it has surpassed 400,000 units.
BMW Emphasizes The Need For “Free Trade”
While headlines have been dominated by tariffs and trade wars, BMW’s management seem to be making a thinly veiled reaffirmation that their commitment to US manufacturing wouldn’t be possible without free trade.
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“Free trade and open markets enable growth and prosperity,” said Milan Nedeljković, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Production. “Our plants — and above all the strong supplier networks in each respective region — benefit from this.”
At present, the BMW Manufacturing South Carolina facility supports over 12,000 jobs on site and assembles more than 1,500 vehicles daily, making it the world’s largest production facility of the BMW Group. It began operation in 1994, housing two paint shops, a press shop, two separate assembly halls, and three body shops.
When it comes to the German brand’s “Sports Activity Vehicles”, the Spartanburg facility is the global center of and an integral part of the global production network of the brand. Hence, its significant contribution helps match the increasing demand for BMW Sports Activity Vehicles and Coupes in the United States.
Nevertheless, there are several other facilities in the country handling the production, marketing, distribution and sales of BMW vehicles.
The business of BMW Group in the United States spreads across 30 locations in 12 states, including Designworks, BMW manufacturing, BMW Group Financial Services, BMW i Venture and BMW Technology Office USA.
