BMW Manufacturing said it was again the largest exporter of US made vehicles as it announced its 2017 tally.
The automaker exported 272,346 BMW X models from its Spartanburg plant in South Carolina.
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Around 87% of these SUVs were exported through the Port of Charleston with an export value of approximately US$8.76bn, according to data from the US Department of Commerce. This confirmed the plant as the leading US automotive exporter by value, according to BMW.
Other vehicles were exported through five southeastern ports: Savannah and Brunswick, Georgia plus Jacksonville, Miami and Everglades, Florida.
Last year, Spartanburg exported over 70% of its output of 371,284 units.
BMW said last June it would spend an extra $600m on the plant from this year to the end of 2021 to support tooling for future model generations. An additional 1,000 jobs will also be added by the end of 2021.
The plant builds X3, X4, X5 and X6 SUVs at the rate of 1,400 units a day and will add the X7 late this year.
Annual capacity is 450,000 vehicles and the factory employs 10,000 people.
