SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) — Former President Donald Trump’s comments about the auto industry have sparked a backlash in Spartanburg County.
Trump was interviewed by Bloomberg News Tuesday where he claimed cars are assembled, not built in manufacturing facilities in South Carolina. He added that children could do the job.
“Mercedes Benz will start building in the United States,” Trump said.” They have a little bit. You know what they really are, assembly like in South Carolina. But, they build everything in Germany, and then they assemble it here. They get away with murder because they say, ‘Oh, yes, we’re building cars.’ They don’t build cars. They take them out of a box and they assemble them. We could have our child do it.”
County Councilman David Britt was part of the team that recruited BMW to Spartanburg County more than 30 years ago. He said he received many phone calls and emails Wednesday about Trump’s comments.
“He is so misinformed and uninformed about what BMW does as far as manufacturing,” Britt said.
South Carolina is home to several automotive plants, including BMW in Spartanburg County and Mercedes Benz and Volvo in the Lowcountry.
“I’m a Republican,” Britt said.
“I’ve been one all my life. To make a comment that they take the product out of a box and assemble it is insulting to all the South Carolinians who have a part in making that car. The only part that BMW makes in Germany is the engine. But, all the other components are made right here in Spartanburg County if not in other parts of South Carolina.”
BMW provided the following statement about Trump’s comments:
BMW Group Plant Spartanburg is proud of its 30-year legacy in South Carolina. We have an eight-million-square-foot facility comprising three body shops, two paint shops, and two assembly halls. We recently added a metal stamping facility to produce body panels. These technologically advanced manufacturing operations represent an investment of more than $13 billion. Our 11,000 highly skilled associates complete 1,500 finished vehicles daily – and 400,000 each year — with parts from hundreds of suppliers across the United States. Our BMW X models are some of the most complex vehicles in the world, and they are desired by customers everywhere. Plant Spartanburg has been one of the largest automotive exporters by value in the United States for the past ten years, with an export value of $10.1 billion. We export more vehicles from the United States than we import into the country. Plant Spartanburg generates a total economic impact of $26.7 billion to our state while supporting nearly 43,000 jobs and $3.1 billion in wages and salaries.
Nathalie Bauters, Head of Corporate Communications, BMW Manufacturing
“The most highly-skilled product — probably in the world — comes out of Spartanburg County, South Carolina in BMW,” Britt said. “What I am concerned about is all of those associates. I think it’s hurtful to them to make a comment that elementary kids can do this.”
Britt encourages Trump to visit Spartanburg County to see firsthand what goes into building a vehicle.
“I wrote him in 2018 and invited him to come to Spartanburg and take a tour of BMW,” Britt said. “That offer still stands today. If he wants to see what manufacturing and BMW are all about, his socks will be blown off by what they’re doing.”
