Production of the first pre-production models of the new BMW X7 Sports Activity Vehicle has commenced at the BMW Group Spartanburg plant in the US. BMW said the countdown has started for the final twelve months leading up to the presentation of the production car at the end of 2018.
Prior to this, the vehicle will undergo various tests under partially extreme conditions.
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Knudt Flor, head of the BMW Group Spartanburg plant: “We are proud to produce the BMW X7 here in Spartanburg, the home of our X models. This is a very special vehicle and our employees are looking forward to yet a further member of the X family. Together with the BMW X7, a total of five BMW X models will be exported from Spartanburg to all four corners of the globe.”
At the plant, the production of pre-series models serves to ‘secure and optimise future series production’. BMW X7 pre-production models use the same assembly line as the BMW X5 and BMW X6 production models.
The pre-production models are handed over to development department specialists, who require them for homologation, registration as well as for diverse testing purposes such as endurance tests and test drives under extreme conditions in the desert regions of Death Valley or on the ice and snow covered slopes of Scandinavia.
The pre-production model is fitted with its camouflage wrap while still at the plant. The conspicuous striped patterns are designed to help conceal the new SAV’s final look as far as possible.
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By GlobalDataIn Spartanburg, the BMW Group produces BMW X models for the USA and the global market. Around 70 percent of the vehicles produced in Spartanburg are exported to 140 countries throughout the world. BMW says that according to the US Ministry of Trade, the BMW Group is therefore the largest vehicle exporter in the USA measured in export value. Maximum annual production capacity stands at around 450,000 vehicles.
The BMW Group Spartanburg plant employs more than 9,000 people; a further 1,000 jobs are to be added by the year 2021. Each day, 1,400 BMW X3, X4, X5 and X6 models come off the assembly line at the Spartanburg plant.
