Many American car enthusiasts still wax lyrical about the good ole days of the Detroit Big Three, building proper American muscle. In fact, I know some older car enthusiasts who still use Cadillac and Lincoln in conversation when referencing high-end luxury cars, without realizing that Lincoln now makes re-badged front-wheel drive Fords and Cadillac is a bit of a mess. Today’s American automotive landscape is very different from what it was decades ago. Now, the largest amount of American-made cars exported to the rest of the world actually come the BMW Spartanburg plant, not Detroit.
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There’s no question that the BMW Spartanburg plant help turned Greer County, South Carolina around. It’s brought in thousands of jobs and indirectly helped create thousands more across the state of South Carolina, through increased supply chain jobs. Yet, things might get tricky for BMW in South Carolina and that could directly affect the community.
We aren’t going to get political but must report the facts that surround BMW and the ongoing trade war between the United States and the rest of the world, in this case China and Germany, could hurt jobs in Spartanburg.
The President Trump has imposed tariffs on China and, in retaliation, China has now put tariffs on American-made automobiles. BMW exports 80,000 SUVs from Spartanburg to China per year, which drastically increases BMW’s costs. While the BMW Spartanburg plant will be able to weather that storm, the Bavarians aren’t so sure about what will happen if tariffs are imposed on Germany as well.
If increased tariffs are put on cars imported from Germany, which make up most of BMW’s model lineup, and Germany retaliates with similar tariffs, BMW might be forced to lay off workers and scale back production dramatically. That would not only directly affect those employees at the BMW Spartanburg plant itself but the scaled back production will also hurt jobs in the massive supply chain that’s helped so much by BMW’s presence. That can negatively affect the local economy and hurt South Carolina.
BMW’s Spartanburg plant is incredibly important to BMW, the state of South Carolina and the United States as a whole. So hopefully everything works out but there’s no question that the uncertainty behind this entire situation is troubling for both BMW and the residents of Spartanburg.
[Source: CNN]
Since when BMW has become an American car manufacturer to become “America’s largest car exporter”!!!??? Wishful thinking!
“Now, the largest amount of American-made cars exported to the rest of the world actually come the BMW Spartanburg plant, not Detroit.”
You clearly do not understand how BMWs are made globally.
How so? You clearly do not understand the article.
No? Please, elaborate. BMW exports all rear-wheel drive ‘X’ model SUVs to the rest of the world from Spartanburg. Some other plants help out when necessary but Spartanburg is the main plant, globally, for all BMW SUVs, except the X1/X2.
Who in North America exports more cars by monetary volume then? Note the titles says “America’s largest car exporter” and the statement would be equally true if it said “The largest exporter of American made cars.” It says nothing about BMW being an American company. The VIN of those cars start with a 5 and not a W.
Who wrote this silly article? BMW is German and not American!
BMW is only assembling cars in the US for tax benifit reasons.
You could say that about all the foreign brands that operate in the US
It’s an interesting thesis – Volvo, Jaguar & Volvo are no longer British or Swedish, despite being manufactured there, they are Chinese & Indian based on ownership. And Rolls-Royce & MINI can no longer be British despite being manufactured there, since corporate ownership is German. And Daimler are becoming Chinese based on the recent Geely investment.
Maybe. But that doesn’t change the fact that America makes billions in revenue from BMW exporting US-built SUVs to the rest of the world.
It is not “may be”; it is a fact. Just read BMW’s history on their BMW.com site. It is certainly a German car maker. BMW is pure German.
Agreed on the revenue issue. However, let’s see if that continues given the US’s current Anti-European attitude on the political and economic scene. At present, the US thinks it can survive without European investment. Let’s see.
The maybe was about bmw making cars here purely for tax benefits. Not whether or not BMW was German lol this is bmwblog, you think we didn’t know where bmw was from?
Anyway, the second part of your retort is exactly what the article was about…
BMW used to lose billions annually due to currency fluctuations. America is one of their most lucrative markets, why not produce there? How many non-American manufacturers produce in North America? BMW have been a global manufacturer since the last century, their website lists dozens of manufacturing sights around the world. Trivializing BMW’s largest manufacturing plant to “tax benefit purposes” is silly, like calling i3 a “compliance car” when it is also sold globally. Anyone citing “tax benefit purposes” obviously doesn’t even know who’s in the White House. You know, the dude who thinks BMW & Mercedes import millions of vehicles. While GM importing from China & Korea is fine.
What on earth are you talking about?
Wake up “dude”!
Are you related to that person in the White House or just lost with any sense of reality?
My comments were not directed @ you.
Yours are nonsense.