BMW Reminder: We’re the Biggest U.S. Auto Exporter

BMW AG exported more than $8.4 billion worth of SUVs from the U.S. in 2018, making it the country’s largest vehicle exporter by value for the fifth consecutive year, according to Dept. of Commerce data.

BMW’s exports totaled 234,700 units last year, or about two-thirds of the total output of the company’s giant manufacturing complex in Spartanburg, S.C. The facility employs more than 11,000 people.

About 48,500 of the plant’s exports went to China last year. That volume was 40% below the 2017 total because of the escalating tariff war between the U.S. and China. The higher taxes made it unprofitable to export X3 small crossover to China from Spartanburg. BMW avoided the impact by moving that production to its plants in China and South Africa.

BMW cited the Commerce Dept. figures as a reminder of its contribution to the U.S. balance of trade. Its experience with the X3 also illustrates the sensitivity of that support to the effects of higher tariffs.

BMW’s report comes as the Trump administration weighs higher taxes on Chinese goods—which China has vowed to match—if the two countries fail to reach a new trade agreement. Carmakers almost universally oppose larger tariffs, warning they will lead to higher prices for both domestically and foreign-made vehicles.