For Starters
Fastest factory start-up in automotive history—a record 23 months from site groundbreaking to first car produced ﾠ
BMW's first full manufacturing facility outside Germany and first US production facility ﾠ
First automobile manufacturing plant in the United States to use water-based (instead of high solvent) paints ﾠ
Catalyst for the first 100% digitally developed vehicle manufactured by BMW—X5 Sports Activity Vehicle ﾠ
Engineered world’s first “green" automotive paint shop to be powered by recycled landfill methane gas ﾠ
Named a ‘2006 Top Plant’ by Plant Engineering Magazine ﾠ
80% of cars produced are customized for individual customers ﾠ
Selected Manufacturing Stats
Plant
Of the 4 million square feet that encompass the production facility’s campus, 2.5 million square feet are located under one roof.
Opened for production
July 11, 1994
First vehicle produced
White 318i, September 8, 1994
Average daily output
500 vehicles
Total production since 1994
1,420,628 Vehicles (through 12/31/2008)
Production time
36 hours per vehicle
 - Body Shop 4 hours
 - Paint Shop 13 hours
 - Assembly 19 hours
Number of jobs
5,000
North American suppliers
187
South Carolina suppliers
49

The paint shop is 7 stories high and contains 4.5 miles of conveyor ﾠ
BMW Manufacturing Co. was the 1st manufacturer in US to use water-borne color matched primer ﾠ
More than 36 feet of mig weld are used on the X5 body to create more rigidity ﾠ
The Body Shop is 100% automated ﾠ
The paint shop uses more than 65 pieces of automated equipment including feather dusters, robots, and electrostatic bells ﾠ
Over 10 miles of paint lines containing over 4,000 gallons of paint ﾠ
102 robots are involved in the X5 Body Shop ﾠ
Positions on the line are rotated to reduce repetition, as well as being used for cross-training ﾠ
Paperwork verifying the correct collaboration and installment of parts travels with the vehicle throughout the line ﾠ