BMW invests $1.7 billion in the United States to produce electric cars

BMW Group The company announced Wednesday that it plans to invest $1.7 billion in its U.S. operations building electric vehicles and batteries.

The investment will include $1 billion to prepare for electric vehicle production at the automaker’s existing Spartanburg plant in South Carolina, and $700 million for a new high-voltage battery assembly facility in nearby Woodruff.

The German automaker expects to produce at least six cars All-electric models in the US by 2030. The Spartanburg facility, where the investment was announced, is currently producing BMW “X” SUVs and lithium-ion battery units for its plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Production of new hybrid electricity BMW XM It is expected to start later this year.

“Going forward, it will also be a key driver of our electrification strategy, and we will produce at least six fully electric BMW X models by 2030,” BMW President Oliver Zipse said in a statement.

On Wednesday, BMW also announced a deal to buy battery cells from Japan-based Envision AESC, which will build a new battery-cell plant in South Carolina to supply BMW plants.

The Envision AESC facility is expected to have an annual production capacity of 30 GWh – in line with plans by other automakers and battery suppliers to US factories.

An Envision AESC spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. In April, the company announced plans to spend $2 billion to build a second US factory in Kentucky. Its first plant in Tennessee supplies Nissan Motor Co.

BMW has already announced the establishment of four additional battery cell plants in Europe and China to meet its demand for next-generation battery cells.

The ads are the latest of several recent ads Billions of dollars in investment in the United States Production of electric vehicles and batteries amid tighter emissions regulations to encourage local manufacturing.

Automakers are also facing stricter guidelines on sourcing that are part of Inflation reduction law and the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, formerly known as the North American Free Trade Agreement. Both policies increased requirements for domestically sourced auto parts and materials to avoid tariffs or qualify for financial incentives.