BMW said Tuesday that it would begin producing electric vehicles in the United States by the end of the year, a contrarian move when many automakers are slowing investment in the technology.
The iX5, a midsize electric sport utility vehicle, will be the first new electric vehicle to roll off the assembly line at the German automaker’s factory in Spartanburg, S.C. By 2030, the company plans to produce six electric models at the plant, one of its most important and largest outside Germany.
Other automakers have delayed or canceled electric vehicle projects in recent months and recorded multibillion-dollar losses as a result. They have been responding to weak U.S. sales after Congress eliminated subsidies for electric car purchases.
BMW exports about half of the vehicles it makes in Spartanburg, where it produced more than 400,000 vehicles last year. The South Carolina complex is the company’s main hub for producing the X5 and other sport utility vehicles.
Exports allow BMW to benefit from strong demand for electric vehicles in Europe, where they account for 20 percent of new vehicle sales. That compares with about 6 percent in the United States.
BMW is moving in the opposite direction of many of its competitors.
In March, Honda scrapped plans to build three electric models in the United States. The change led to $9 billion in restructuring charges and write-downs.
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