BMW will unveil a new vehicle later this year to be built at its South Carolina plant, chairman Oliver Zipse told CNBC.
The Spartanburg plant currently produces the BMW X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 as well as performance models of most vehicles.
“At the end of the year we will announce that we will be building another high-end car from this production facility,” Zipse told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau in the “Squawk Box”. “It’s not a successor, it’s a brand new model, high-end for the American market, but also for the world market.”
BMW currently exports about 70% of the vehicles produced at the US plant, Zipse said. He did not want to reveal any further details about the new vehicle.
Auto intelligence firm LMC Automotive expects BMW to start producing a new crossover called the X8 at the plant from next year. The vehicle is expected to be a two-row vehicle based on BMW’s current three-row X7.
Zipse said the company “fully supports” the Biden government’s goal of making half of the auto industry’s sales from electric vehicles by 2030. However, this goal will not be achieved with today’s charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
“We won’t achieve that with today’s infrastructure, but of course we have 10 years to work together to build an infrastructure for charging needs and so on,” he said. “And I think with the infrastructure goals that the Biden administration has set, there is a good opportunity to get at least very close to this market.”
Read More: CNBC Road Test: U.S. Electric Vehicle Charging Network Isn’t Ready For Your Family Road Trip, Let alone the expected wave of new cars
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Charles Mostoller | Reuters
