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First Customer BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicle Rolls Off the Line

3 September 1999

First Customer BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicle Rolls Off the Line

    SPARTANBURG, S.C., Sept. 2 -- The first BMW X5 Sports
Activity Vehicle yesterday rolled off the manufacturing line at BMW
Manufacturing Corp.  It was a 4.4-liter, eight-cylinder X5 with Pearl Beige
exterior and Pastel Green interior.
    It has been a 35-month journey from concept to production, marking the
fastest vehicle start-up in BMW history.
    A $600 million expansion of the South Carolina factory increased the size
of plant from 1.2 million to 2.1 million square feet, resulting in a higher
production capacity and one of the auto industry's most flexible manufacturing
operations.  Second production lines have been added in Body and Assembly to
build the X5.
    A 60,000-square-foot engineering center was built adjacent to the
manufacturing complex.  The new analysis center provides the capability to
better integrate the engineering and manufacturing functions.  The facility
includes testing laboratories for electrical analysis, endurance and
reliability, noise reduction and road simulation.
    The South Carolina workforce already has increased from 2,000 to
2,300 associates and will continue to increase through calendar year 2000.
    The X5 is the industry's first luxury sports activity vehicle, combining
the powerful acceleration and exceptional handling of a car with advanced
traction technologies and full-time four-wheel drive.
    Until now, the South Carolina factory has been involved in X5 pre-series
production to check and examine to ensure manufacturing processes for the new
vehicle meet BMW's quality standards before customer production begins.
    The X5 designers borrowed the best concepts from BMW sedans to apply to
the SAV blueprint, resulting in the first vehicle that brings BMW's passion
for performance to a vehicle that can take you and your gear any where you
want to go.
    Shorter than a 5 Series, wider than a 7 Series and with more ground
clearance than any other BMW, the X5 packs utility into a nimble vehicle.
The base price in the U.S. for the eight-cylinder X5 is $49,970, which has
been announced by the BMW of North America, BMW's  sales and marketing
company.  It represents the top of the SAV line and will be joined by an in-
line six-cylinder model next spring.