BMW to build next-generation X5 and electric iX5 in South Carolina

BMW is setting up Plant Spartanburg to build the next-generation X5 in August and the first fully electric iX5 in December, putting South Carolina at the center of its U.S. electric strategy even as other automakers pull back after multibillion-dollar EV losses. The move tests whether BMW is betting on durable demand, using tariffs and subsidies to its advantage, or simply building a manufacturing base flexible enough to outlast a slower transition.

BMW staged the world premiere of the new X5 at the Spartanburg plant on Tuesday, underscoring how central the site has become to the company’s global SUV business. The company says Plant Spartanburg is its largest production facility worldwide, with more than 11,000 employees assembling the X3, X4, X5, X6, X7 and XM. More than 1,500 vehicles roll off the line each day, and BMW says more than half are exported to 120 world markets.

The X5 has been built in Spartanburg for 27 years, and BMW says its U.S. manufacturing operation has assembled more than 7.3 million vehicles since 1994. That scale matters because the company is trying to keep its gas-powered, hybrid and battery-electric business under one roof while it builds the iX5 alongside the next X5. The strategy gives BMW a way to hedge demand: it can keep selling high-volume SUVs today while pushing deeper into electric production for the years ahead.

BMW’s South Carolina push rests on a $1.7 billion U.S. investment announced on October 19, 2022. The plan included $1 billion to prepare Plant Spartanburg for battery-electric vehicle production and $700 million for a new high-voltage battery assembly facility in nearby Woodruff. At the time, BMW said it aimed to build at least six fully electric X-models in the U.S. by 2030.

That battery strategy has faced strain. BMW’s supply chain in South Carolina was tied in part to Envision AESC, whose cell plant project was later paused, raising questions about timing and supply for BMW’s EV rollout. BMW has kept saying its electric plans remain on track, and the new X5 and iX5 schedule turns Spartanburg into a key test case for whether the company can turn its export-heavy U.S. base into a durable electric-SUV hub.