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BMW announces $600-million expansion

Munich - BMW said Monday it will invest an additional $600 million to expand its South Carolina plant, creating 1000 new jobs over the next four years.

CEO Harald Krueger's announcement coincided with the German automaker's celebration of 25 years of manufacturing in the state. BMW, which has already invested $8-billion in South Carolina, also unveiled its 2018 BMW X3, a compact sports vehicle expected to be available in November. It will be built at the plant in Greer alongside the BMW X4, X5 and X6.

BMW's largest plant in the world

The expansion will boost its workforce to more than 10 000 people. BMW will separately invest $200-million over five years on workforce training, Krueger said. The company touts the South Carolina plant as its largest worldwide, producing more than 411 000 X models last year. About 70% of BMWs made there are exported to more than 140 countries.

BMW's all-new X3 set for SA later in 2017

Last year, the plant reached a milestone with its two millionth exported BMW. The overwhelming majority of its exports leave through the Charleston port.

No more 2 Series Coupe manual 

Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting that the automaker will discontinue manual models of the 2 Series Coupe in the US.

The reason? It's become to expensive to certify components in each market. The automaker will also stop offering manual versions of the 5 Series diesel models and plans to cut engine derivatives too. 

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