To the extent that historical press releases reference BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC as the manufacturer of certain X model vehicles, the referenced vehicles are manufactured in South Carolina with a combination of U.S. origin and imported parts and components.
If you ask former CEO Bernhard Kuhnt what BMW of North America’s associates contribute to the company’s success, his answer is simple: “Everything!” “BMW North America’s associates are, number one, hugely diverse in the truest sense, and very professional, very motivated,” said Kuhnt, who served as CEO from 2017 to 2021. “I had a hugely enjoyable time there because the individual areas of the organization were all driven, and they all wanted to succeed.”
Since its founding in 1975, BMW of North America has occupied a number of buildings in northern New Jersey, which themselves offer a fascinating glimpse at the company’s adaptations to increasing sales as well as new models of working in the post-pandemic era.
On December 19, 2019, a hospital in Wuhan, China reported the first case of severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by a previously unknown coronavirus that would be identified shortly thereafter as COVID-19. The disease was unusually contagious, and unusually virulent, causing its first fatalities shortly after it was identified
++ Group pre-tax earnings > € 8.0 billion YTD September; EBT margin of 8.1% ++ Slight sales growth globally YTD September – Europe +8.6% and USA +9.5% ++ Automotive EBIT margin at 5.9% YTD September and 5.2% in Q3, within annual target range ++ Significant BEV growth, representing 18.0% of sales (share incl. PHEV: 26.2%) YTD September +++ Incoming BMW iX3* orders exceed expectations ++ Zipse: “On course to meet ambitious European CO2 targets for 2025”++
In 2024, BMW of North America sold 371,346 automobiles in the U.S. Though that number represents just two and a half percent of the nearly 16 million cars sold nationwide last year, it also represents a record for BMW in this country. It also represents a remarkable increase from the mere 19,419 cars sold in 1975, BMW of North America’s first year of operation.
From the outside, the building that houses the BMW Car Club of America Foundation is fairly undistinguished, as one would expect of a former pharmaceutical warehouse in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Inside, however, it’s a treasure trove of BMW ephemera, and the only museum outside Munich devoted exclusively to BMW. Dubbed “The Ultimate Driving Museum,” this humble space has been hosting truly spectacular exhibits since 2017, when guests were invited to ...
With its corporate headquarters located directly across the street from the site of Munich’s Olympiapark, BMW is a natural partner for the Olympic movement. When the Games were held in Munich in 1972, BMW’s battery-powered Elektro-Auto 1600 paced the marathon and speed-walking events.
If you were following the business news on March 16, 2009, you might have noticed an interesting transaction involving SGL Carbon, the world’s largest supplier of carbon fiber and carbon fiber products, including automotive brakes. On that date, the SKion investment firm spent approximately €140 million to acquire more than 5 million shares in SGL, or 7.92 percent of the company. With it came a seat on the SGL board for SKion principal Susanne Klatten, a ...
What does “the future” look like? How will we live, and what will we drive? For automakers, these questions are existential, and most expend considerable resources trying to answer them. That was relatively easy throughout most of the 20th century, but it became more difficult in the 21st, as the pace of change increased exponentially—not only with respect to technology, but also where demographics are concerned.
If you were alive on September 11, 2001, you undoubtedly remember a fall day that dawned crystal-clear in the New York metropolitan area. You undoubtedly remember, as well, the exact moment you learned that a pair of passenger jets had been flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, followed by a third into the Pentagon and a fourth into a Pennsylvania field.
No industry wants to be regulated, and it goes without saying that automakers dislike regulation. Yet even those automakers most opposed to regulation have to admit that it can prod them into making safer and more efficient cars, or even to develop entirely new product lines.
How do you define the essence of BMW? Is it what the car is, or what the car makes you feel? That question is at the heart of a controversy surrounding a 2010 BMW ad campaign that seemed to abandon BMW of North America’s longstanding The Ultimate Driving Machine tagline for the more nebulous “Joy is BMW.” The move outraged brand loyalists, not least because the campaign coincided with the introduction of cars like the 5 Series GT, aimed not at enthusiasts ...
BMW of North America’s customers have always been more performance-minded than their counterparts in other markets, but the cars sold here haven’t always been as performance-oriented as those customers might have liked. In the 1970s and ’80s, strict U.S. crash and emissions standards ensured that cars sold here were heavier and less powerful than their counterparts in Europe, which saw U.S. enthusiasts turn to the so-called “grey market” in order to get ...
Small cars have always been a tough sell in the United States, where they’re typically seen as bare-bones transportation for those on a limited budget rather than as a space-saving, fuel-efficient choice for those who simply prefer a smaller, lighter vehicle. In 2002, the BMW Group upended that notion with the MINI Cooper, a car that was not only small and efficient but fun to drive, premium, and—above all—quirky. The MINI Cooper became a surprise hit in ...
Although invented in France, V8 engines have been indelibly associated with American cars—and American tastes—since 1914, when Cadillac introduced its “L-head” V8. Since then, a V8 engine has been de rigueur for any automaker hoping to sell cars to American customers, lest its automobiles be seen as underpowered, underequipped, or simply unappealing.
Woodcliff Lake, NJ – July 17, 2025… BMW of North America in partnership with the Petersen Automotive Museum announced the opening of “The Ultimate Racing Machine. 50 Years of the BMW 3 Series in Motorsports” exhibit in the Phil Hill Legends Room of the museum’s recently reimagined James H. Frank Family Vault.
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