BMW says no change in South Carolina expansion plans

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – BMW says it still plans to add 1,000 workers in South Carolina, even as the company starts production of a new vehicle in China.

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.

But BMW’s U.S. manufacturing remains vulnerable to a trade war. China imposed another 25 per cent charge on imports 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.

Small Business Chamber President Frank Knapp says BMW’s suppliers need more details, so they can know how many people to employ.

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Information from: Herald-Journal, http://www.goupstate.com/