GREER, S.C. - BMW Manufacturing Co. has produced its one-millionth vehicle in South Carolina.
The blue Z4 M Roadster, which came off the line Tuesday, will be on display at the Upstate factory for several weeks before moving next door to the Zentrum museum.
On Friday, the company celebrated how far the plant has come since producing its first vehicle in 1994. It has grown from 600 employees in a 1.2 million-square-foot plant to 4,500 employees in a facility double that size.
"This is truly a remarkable milestone for this company," said Bob Nitto, vice president of corporate affairs.
The car took four days to complete, much longer than the usual 24-hour start-to-finish cycle, because BMW officials purposefully extended the production time.
"We wanted each of the departments to have a celebration along the way," said BMW spokeswoman Bunny Richardson.
Winkie Seay of Spartanburg, who works in the paint shop, said all of her co-workers wanted to touch the car as it passed through their department.
Iris Campbell, the widow of the late Gov. Carroll Campbell who is credited with bringing the plant to South Carolina, said her husband would be proud of the company's growth.
"Carroll's probably smiling down on this day," she said Friday.
Gov. Mark Sanford, who has been criticized for the state's high unemployment rate, said BMW is a leader in the state's economy. South Carolina is home to 48 BMW suppliers, he said.
Production of the Z4, the first vehicle launched at the Palmetto State plant, began in 2002. Production of the new Z4 M Roadster, Z4 Coupe and M Couple is expected to begin this spring.
"Judging by the reception so far, we expect this baby to be a very, very hot car," said Clemens Schmitz-Justen, president of BMW Manufacturing.
Z4 sales have sagged recently.
The automaker sold more than 1.3 million BMW, MINI and Rolls Royce vehicles worldwide in 2005, or 10 percent more than in 2004. Only 28,808 of those vehicles were Z4s, a 25 percent drop from 2004.
