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President-elect Donald Trump turned his neat pulpit gun sights on BMW, and threatened to slap a 35% tariff on BMWs sold in the US if BMW builds a manufactory in Mexico. Trump complained car sales are a one-way street: "How many Chevrolets practise you see in Federal republic of germany? Maybe none," he said. In verbal retaliation, Germany'south economy minister said the U.s. needs to build amend-quality cars if it wants to sell overseas.

The reality is that BMW already builds a lot of cars hither — thousands more information technology sells in the Usa. Another reality is that four United states nameplate automakers actually have better long-term reliability than BMW, Audi, or Mercedes-Benz. Including Chevrolet.

BMW X5 in body and paint booth, Spartanburg, SC

BMW X5 in body and paint berth, Spartanburg, SC

Charge and counter-charge

Trump took time off from picking his cabinet and blasting Sabbatum Night Live to give an interview with The Times of London. "Federal republic of germany is a great country, groovy manufacturing land — you go downwards Fifth Avenue everybody has a Mercedes-Benz in front end of their edifice, right — the fact is that information technology's been very unfair to the U.s.a., it's not a ii-way street," he said, calculation, "How many Chevrolets do you encounter in Germany? Peradventure none — not as well many — how many — you don't see anything over there — it'southward a one-way street — it's gotta be a 2-way street."

When asked if German automakers should exist building more cars in the US, Trump said, "I would tell BMW if they call up they're gonna build a establish in United mexican states and sell cars into the Usa without a 35 per centum tax, information technology's not gonna happen, it'southward non gonna happen — so if they want to build cars for the world I would say wish them luck — they tin can build cars for the Us but they'll exist paying a 35 pct revenue enhancement on every car that comes into the state."

In an interview with the German newspaper Bild, Sigmar Gabriel, Germany's economy minister and vice-chancellor said, "The American car industry is getting worse, weaker, and more expensive. … The United states of america needs to build better cars" if Americans are choosing German cars over American.

BMW exported almost 300,000 cars from the US in 2022.

BMW exported virtually 300,000 SUVs from the US in 2022. Every X3, X4, X5, X6 comes from SC.

The reality: BMW is America'southward biggest car exporter

What Trump apparently didn't know is that BMW Group (the umbrella for BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce) is a model for exporting cars from the US. The BMW factory in Spartanburg is BMW's largest facility in the world, with the most volume: 411,171 BMWs built there last year, versus 365,204 BMWs and Minis sold in the US. Nobody exports more cars from the The states — not Ford, not GM, not the Chrysler arm of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 287,700 BMW vehicles concluding year, or 70% of production, and 3.seven one thousand thousand vehicles since the found opened in 1996.

Every BMW SUV (except the subcompact X1) is built in one mill – Spartanburg — then shipped to the 140 countries where BMWs are sold. Mercedes builds SUVs and meaty C-Class cars at a manufacturing plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and is edifice a factory for Sprinter vans in Charleston, SC.

Nobody is like the Germans when it comes to creating sport-luxury vehicles that handle well at insanely high speeds, which may play confronting more softly sprung Buicks selling well in Germany (in People's republic of china, they sell briskly). Simply Americans do make some US-flagged cars that are more reliable. The J.D. Power 2022 Vehicle Dependability Study, which measures problems encountered per 100 vehicles after three years of ownership, has Lexus and Porsche running i-2. Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW are amassed at 11-12-xiv, slightly improve than average. But the vehicles of five United states of america-flagged companies are amend on VDS: No. 3 Buick, No 5 GMC, No. 6 Chevrolet, No. 9 Ram, and No. 10 Lincoln.

If at that place's a reason why The states-flagged cars aren't selling well in Europe, information technology may be that Ford and GM have cars specifically designed for international markets. Many The states-designed cars are also built to exist softer-riding and bigger inside and out to take account of our expanding waistlines, when Europeans want cars that make information technology through narrow streets. Americans are about 25 pounds heavier than in the 1960s.

Among BMW, Michelin (US HQ and manufactory nearby), and hundreds of suppliers, BMW and Michelin account for more than 75,000 jobs out of a South Carolina civilian workforce of just over ii one thousand thousand.

If the President-elect wants to pick a fight with BMW in a state than went 55-41 for Trump, he may become push-back from Palmetto State residents and voters hoping nobody upsets the status quo.