BMW Doubles Battery Manufacturing Capability In Spartanburg For X3, X5 PHEVs
BMW has greater than doubled the manufacturing capability of high-voltage batteries at its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
The plant’s battery facility has begun constructing the brand new fourth-generation batteries that might be used within the plug-in hybrid variations of the brand new BMW X5 and the BMW X3 — each additionally produced in Spartanburg.
“We’ve got invested round ten million US in a brand new battery meeting line and expanded the world to greater than eight,000 sq. meters. This implies we may double the variety of batteries produced if wanted to fulfill market demand,” mentioned Michael Nikolaides, Senior Vice President Engines and Electrified Drivetrains, BMW Group.
Battery set up on the BMW X5 xDrive45e iPerformance plug-in hybrid
BMW will be capable of construct several types of fourth-generation batteries on the brand new meeting line to fulfill rising demand for electrified automobiles. Greater than 120 folks might be employed in battery manufacturing at Spartanburg by the tip of this 12 months.
The plant has produced a complete of greater than 45,000 batteries since 2015, most of them for the earlier technology BMW X5 xDrive40e plug-in hybrid. Its successor, the 2019 BMW X5 xDrive45e iPerformance, will enter manufacturing in August this 12 months, adopted by the smaller BMW X3 xDrive30e in December. Because the identify suggests, the latter mannequin will use the identical powertrain because the BMW 330e plug-in hybrid.
2019 BMW X5 xDrive45e iPerformance plug-in hybrid
“The BMW X5 and BMW X3 are at the moment among the many top-selling BMW fashions within the US. We count on their plug-in hybrid variants to be simply as standard with clients,” mentioned Knudt Flor, President and CEO, BMW Manufacturing.
For the reason that begin of 2019, the BMW Group has invested an extra $10 million in manufacturing of plug-in hybrid fashions, with an extra 225 automobile meeting employees being educated within the manufacturing of electrified fashions.
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