Electric cars from BMW

Germany's BMW is investing $1.7bn in electric car production in the US. The head of the company, Oliver Zipse, told Reuters on Wednesday.

He said the company plans to produce at least six models of BMW electric cars in the United States by 2030.

BMW also intends to invest $1 billion to upgrade its plant in South Carolina to produce electric cars, as well as $700 million to build a high-voltage battery assembly plant. "This is the largest investment we have ever made," added the head of the company.

Earlier, BMW, as noted by the agency, also announced the construction of four additional battery plants in Europe and China. The new battery format will increase electric vehicle charging speeds by up to 30 percent, the agency claimed. It is worth noting that localising battery production in the US is important for automakers who want to claim the $7,500 per vehicle tax credit, which requires electric cars to be assembled in the US.

However, foreign carmakers have expressed concern that the new tax credits could discriminate against companies without production facilities in the US, but they have also begun taking steps to localise production in the US.

Ford said its three new battery plants will provide 129 GWh of annual production capacity. General Motors plans four new battery plants in the US with LG Chem for a total annual capacity of 140GWh, while Volkswagen aims to have six battery plants operating in Europe by 2030 for a total of 240GWh per year. Stellantis is planning a new plant in Indiana that will have an initial annual production capacity of 23 GWh. Hyundai and Honda have also announced plant plans in the US.

Worldwide battery production is expected to grow from 95.3 GWh in 2020 to 410.5 GWh in 2024, according to GlobalData, a data and analytics company.