BMW breaks ground on new high-voltage battery assembly factory in South Carolina

28 June 2023, 07:33:02

BMW breaks ground on new high-voltage battery assembly factory in South CarolinaBMW broke ground for a new high-voltage battery assembly plant in Woodruff, South Carolina. Named "Plant Woodruff," the BMW facility will produce sixth-generation batteries to supply fully electric vehicles at nearby BMW Manufacturing in Spartanburg. More than 300 jobs will be created onsite at Plant Woodruff with the opportunity to grow.

As part of the BMW Group’s "local for local" approach, the company will purchase battery cells for its electric vehicles from partner AESC, which is building a new 30 GWh battery cell factory in Florence, South Carolina, with BMW as its first customer. AESC broke ground for its new plant on June 7. They will produce newly developed round lithium-ion battery cells, specifically designed for the sixth generation of BMW eDrive technology. The new battery format will increase energy density by more than 20 percent and improve charging speed and range by up to 30 percent. At the same time, CO2 emissions from cell production will be reduced by up to 60 percent through the partial use of secondary lithium, cobalt, and nickel material, as well as renewable energy for production.

Battery cells produced at the AESC facility in Florence will be shipped to Plant Woodruff, where the cells will be used to manufacture batteries for fully electric BMW X models at Plant Spartanburg. By 2030, Plant Spartanburg will build at least six fully electric BMWs.

Last October, BMW Group Chairman Oliver Zipse announced a new $1.7 billion investment in its U.S. operations, including $1 billion to prepare Plant Spartanburg for the production of fully electric vehicles and $700 million to build a new high-voltage battery assembly plant. The Woodruff facility, located on 315 acres near the city, will be more than one million square feet in size that includes the construction of a technology building and support buildings such as a cafeteria, fire department, and energy center.

The new BMW Technical Training Center (TTC), which opened in October, will play a critical role in preparing associates to build fully electric vehicles. Plant Spartanburg already produces three plug-in hybrid electric vehicles – the BMW X3 xDrive30e, BMW X5 xDrive50e, and the BMW XM – and several hundred associates already have EV training. The TTC will be at the center of all EV training for North and South America to ensure associates master the skills to set new industry standards.

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EV Specifications

Complete specifications of EVs, grouped according to their brand and year

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Featured

Specifications of some of the most interesting and anticipated EVs.

2024 Porsche Macan

2024 Porsche Macan 4

Doors: 4, Seats: 5
Length: 188.3 in / 4784 mm
Width: 76.3 in / 1938 mm
Height: 63.9 in / 1622 mm
Curb weight: 5302.12 lb / 2405 kg
Location: Rear
Location: Front
Battery: 100 kWh, Voltage: 800 V

2024 Porsche Macan

2024 Porsche Macan Turbo

Doors: 4, Seats: 5
Length: 188.3 in / 4784 mm
Width: 76.3 in / 1938 mm
Height: 63.8 in / 1621 mm
Curb weight: 5302.12 lb / 2405 kg
Location: Rear
Location: Front
Battery: 100 kWh, Voltage: 800 V

2024 Xiaomi SU7

2024 Xiaomi SU7 RWD

Doors: 4, Seats: 5
Length: 196.7 in / 4997 mm
Width: 77.3 in / 1963 mm
Height: 57.3 in / 1455 mm
Curb weight: 4365.15 lb / 1980 kg
Electric motor: 220 kW, 400 Nm, Location: Rear
Battery: 73.6 kWh

2024 Xiaomi SU7

2024 Xiaomi SU7 AWD

Doors: 4, Seats: 5
Length: 196.7 in / 4997 mm
Width: 77.3 in / 1963 mm
Height: 56.7 in / 1440 mm
Curb weight: 4861.19 lb / 2205 kg
Electric motor #1: 275 kW, 500 Nm, Location: Rear
Electric motor #2: 220 kW, 400 Nm, Location: Front
Battery: 101 kWh, Voltage: 871 V

2024 Volkswagen ID.7

2024 Volkswagen ID.7 Pro

Doors: 4, Seats: 5
Length: 195.3 in / 4961 mm
Height: 60.5 in / 1536 mm
Curb weight: 4788.44 lb / 2172 kg
Electric motor: 210 kW, 550 Nm, Location: Rear
Battery: 77 kWh

2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ

2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ Luxury 2

Doors: 5, Seats: 7
Length: 224.3 in / 5697 mm
Height: 76.1 in / 1934 mm
Electric motor: 505 kW, 1064 Nm, Location: Rear
Location: Front
Battery: 200 kWh, Voltage: 800 V

2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ

2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ Sport 2

Doors: 5, Seats: 7
Length: 224.3 in / 5697 mm
Height: 76.1 in / 1934 mm
Electric motor: 505 kW, 1064 Nm, Location: Rear
Location: Front
Battery: 200 kWh, Voltage: 800 V

2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ

2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ Luxury 1

Doors: 5, Seats: 7
Length: 224.3 in / 5697 mm
Height: 76.1 in / 1934 mm
Electric motor: 505 kW, 1064 Nm, Location: Rear
Location: Front
Battery: 200 kWh, Voltage: 800 V

2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ

2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ Sport 1

Doors: 5, Seats: 7
Length: 224.3 in / 5697 mm
Height: 76.1 in / 1934 mm
Electric motor: 505 kW, 1064 Nm, Location: Rear
Location: Front
Battery: 200 kWh, Voltage: 800 V

2025 Volvo EX30

2025 Volvo EX30 Twin Motor Performance (EK)

Doors: 5, Seats: 5
Length: 166.7 in / 4233 mm
Width: 76.4 in / 1940 mm
Height: 61.0 in / 1549 mm
Curb weight: 4034.46 lb / 1830 kg
Location: Rear
Location: Front
Battery: 69 kWh

2023 BMW i7

2023 BMW i7 xDrive60

Doors: 4, Seats: 5
Length: 212.2 in / 5391 mm
Width: 76.8 in / 1950 mm
Height: 60.8 in / 1544 mm
Curb weight: 5820.2 lb / 2640 kg
Electric motor #1: 190 kW, 365 Nm, Location: Rear
Electric motor #2: 230 kW, 380 Nm, Location: Front
Battery: 105.7 kWh, Voltage: 376.4 V

2024 BMW iX

2024 BMW iX M60

Doors: 5, Seats: 5
Length: 195.0 in / 4953 mm
Width: 77.4 in / 1967 mm
Height: 66.8 in / 1696 mm
Curb weight: 5862.09 lb / 2659 kg
Location: Rear
Location: Front
Battery: 111.5 kWh, Voltage: 330.3 V

2024 BMW iX

2024 BMW iX xDrive50

Doors: 5, Seats: 5
Length: 195.0 in / 4953 mm
Width: 77.4 in / 1967 mm
Height: 66.8 in / 1696 mm
Curb weight: 5698.95 lb / 2585 kg
Location: Rear
Location: Front
Battery: 111.5 kWh, Voltage: 330.3 V

2024 BMW i4

2024 BMW i4 xDrive40

Doors: 4, Seats: 5
Length: 188.3 in / 4783 mm
Width: 72.9 in / 1852 mm
Height: 57.0 in / 1448 mm
Curb weight: 5048.59 lb / 2290 kg
Location: Rear
Location: Front
Battery: 83.9 kWh, Voltage: 398.5 V

2023 BMW i4

2023 BMW i4 M50

Doors: 4, Seats: 5
Length: 188.3 in / 4783 mm
Width: 72.9 in / 1852 mm
Height: 57.0 in / 1448 mm
Curb weight: 5048.59 lb / 2290 kg
Electric motor #1: 230 kW @ 8000 - 17000 rpm, 365 Nm, Location: Rear
Electric motor #2: 190 kW @ 8000 - 17000 rpm, 430 Nm, Location: Front
Battery: 83.9 kWh, Voltage: 398.5 V

2023 BMW iX

2023 BMW iX M60

Doors: 5, Seats: 5
Length: 195.0 in / 4953 mm
Width: 77.4 in / 1967 mm
Height: 66.8 in / 1696 mm
Curb weight: 5862.09 lb / 2659 kg
Location: Rear
Location: Front
Battery: 111.5 kWh, Voltage: 330.3 V

2023 BMW iX

2023 BMW iX xDrive50

Doors: 5, Seats: 5
Length: 195.0 in / 4953 mm
Width: 77.4 in / 1967 mm
Height: 66.8 in / 1696 mm
Curb weight: 5698.95 lb / 2585 kg
Location: Rear
Location: Front
Battery: 111.5 kWh, Voltage: 330.3 V

2024 Volvo EX90

2024 Volvo EX90 Twin Performance (E2)

Doors: 5, Seats: 7
Length: 198.3 in / 5037 mm
Width: 77.3 in / 1964 mm
Height: 68.7 in / 1744 mm
Curb weight: 6197.19 lb / 2811 kg
Electric motor #1: 190 kW, 490 Nm, Location: Rear
Electric motor #2: 180 kW, 420 Nm, Location: Front
Battery: 111 kWh, Voltage: 400 V