BMW to construct new automobile at South Carolina plant

BMW will unveil a brand new automobile later this yr that shall be constructed at its plant in South Carolina, Chairman Oliver Zipse informed CNBC.

The Spartanburg plant presently produces the BMW X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 in addition to efficiency fashions of a lot of the automobiles.

“On the finish of the yr, we’ll make an announcement to construct one other high-end automotive from this manufacturing web site,” Zipse informed CNBC’s Phil LeBeau on “Squawk Field.” “It isn’t a successor mannequin, it is a brand-new mannequin, high-end for the American market but in addition for the world market.”

BMW presently exports about 70% of the automobiles it produces on the U.S. plant, Zipse mentioned. He declined to reveal different particulars of the brand new automobile.

Auto intelligence agency LMC Automotive expects BMW to start producing a brand new crossover known as the X8 on the plant beginning subsequent yr. The automobile is predicted to be a two-row automobile primarily based off BMW’s present three-row X7.

Zipse mentioned the corporate “totally helps” the Biden administration’s aim to have half of the auto trade’s gross sales be electrical automobiles by 2030. However he mentioned that aim won’t be achieved with at present’s EV charging infrastructure.

“With at present’s infrastructure, we won’t get there, however in fact we have now 10 years time to construct up collectively an infrastructure for charging wants, and so forth,” he mentioned. “And I believe with the infrastructure targets which the Biden administration set, I believe there is a good alternative to not less than come very near that market.”

Learn Extra: CNBC street check: The U.S. EV charging community isn’t prepared for your loved ones street journey, not to mention the anticipated wave of latest automobiles