The new 2011 BMW X3 is slowly become a highly successful vehicle for BMW. The Spartanburg-built premium SAV has shown strong sales over the course of last months with 5,982 units sold globally just last month, a 95 percent increase over year-go figures.
In the United States, the company reported 1,987 X3 units sold in February, 466 percent increase for the same month in 2010.
On Monday, the company announced their plants to invest an additional $100 million into its South Carolina operation due to a high-demand for X3 knocked-down “kits” destined for export.
According to Greenville Online, markets for the kits haven’t yet been announced.
The decision to export knocked-down X3s is purely a business decision, said BMW Manufacturing spokesman Max Metcalf.
The kits — with body parts built in Greer and with final packaging by the Syncreon logistics firm in its Duncan facility — would likely be sent to markets in which duties on finished products are unusually high or regulations allowing the finished goods into the market are complex, complicated and burdensome.
About 4,000 semi-knocked-down painted bodies will be shipped this year as kits, the company said.
The investment will be spent primarily on the facility and productivity, Metcalf said.
Currently no new employment is under consideration in conjunction with the decision to export kits as well as finished X3, X5 and X6 vehicles from the Greer plant.
The company is expected to release more details on the new investment shortly.
For the new X3 production, BMW Group has already invested $750 million in the South Carolina plant, its largest investment in South Carolina to date.
