BMW says South Carolina expansion set

BMW says it is sticking with plans to add 1,000 workers in South Carolina, even though the company will start production of a new vehicle in China.

BMW and Chinese partner Brilliance Automotive Group Holdings said Monday a joint venture called BMW Brilliance Automotive will increase the number of vehicles made annually at two plants in China to 520,000 next year.

Spokesman Ken Sparks told the Herald-Journal of Spartanburg that BMW’s new electric iX3 SUV will be produced only in China, and that effort won’t affect production of the new X7 model in South Carolina.

“It is not true in any way, shape or form that BMW is moving production from Spartanburg to China,” Sparks said.

But BMW’s U.S. manufacturing remains vulnerable to a trade war. China already imposed an additional 25 percent charge on vehicles from the U.S., prompting BMW this week to announce higher Chinese sticker prices. The South Carolina plant exports more than two thirds of the 400,000 vehicles it has produced annually, mostly to China, followed by Germany, home of the automaker.

BMW recently wrote U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross saying the tariffs could jeopardize 45,000 jobs in South Carolina, 10,000 currently at the Spartanburg plant and 35,000 at BMW suppliers.