BMW has broken ground on a $700m electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Woodruff, South Carolina to supply the company’s main US car factory in nearby Spartanburg.
It is also investing $1bn in the Spartanburg plant to prepare it for making EVs.
“We’re making the BMW Group electric,” said Ilka Horstmeier, member of the BMW board of management.
Last year, some 60% of BMW vehicles sold in the US came from “Plant Spartanburg”.
Explaining the rationale for the 100-acre Woodruff battery plant, Markus Fallböhmer, BMW’s senior vice president of battery production, said: “Close connection of battery production with vehicle production is part of our strategy.”
Separately, Japanese battery maker AESC broke ground earlier this month on a 34-acre battery plant near Dillon, Florence County, South Carolina. It, too, will supply Plant Spartanburg.
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