BMW was biggest U.S. automotive exporter by value in 2018

Germany’s automaker BMW AG stated it was the biggest U.S. automotive exporter by value for the fifth consecutive year, with exports amounting more than $8.4 billion in 2018.

The company stated it exported 234,689 units of its X model sport utility vehicles and coupes from its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in 2018.

“Despite…the continued uncertainty regarding trade and tariffs, plant Spartanburg is still positively contributing to the U.S. balance of trade,” stated Knudt Flor, president and CEO of BMW Manufacturing.

BMW’s U.S. export report comes during the time when U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to saddle imported vehicles and auto parts with steep tariffs of about 25 percent.

Automakers, however, caution that such tariff on imported cars and parts would increase thousands of dollars to vehicle costs and possibly devastate the U.S. economy as auto companies slash jobs to maintain profits.

“The remarkable partnership between BMW and South Carolina keeps thriving, and this is evident by the fact that our state is still the nation’s leader in the export sales of completed passenger vehicles,” South Carolina Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt stated.