The National Association of Foreign Trade Zones recognized BMW (IW100/37) as its Exporter of the Year, earlier last week.
According to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, based on the 2011 value of BMW exports from South Carolina, the company’s Spartanburg facility is the largest automotive exporter from the U.S.
BMW’s plant in Spartanburg currently produces over 1,000 vehicles each day and is the exclusive exporter of X3 and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles and the X6 Sports Activity Coupe through the Port of Charleston.
This year, the plant is projected to produce more than 300,000 vehicles and will export approximately 70% of those vehicles to more than 130 global markets.
The plant originally began vehicle production in 1994. In the last 18 years, BMW has produced over 2 million vehicles.
Earlier this year, the company announced another $900 million expansion to increase capacity to 350,000 units by 2014 and will bring a new model to its Spartanburg operation.