These German cars are more American than your Chevrolet

There’s nothing more German than the BMW or Mercedes-Benz logo, but did you know that a large portion of their cars are not made in Germany?

With globalisation, it’s easy to be blinded by a brand’s heritage and assume it is still made in its birthplace. The truth is that cars are made in just about every corner of the world. One of the most surprising countries churning out some of your favourite luxury ‘German’ cars is the United States.

The USA has been a hub for BMW and Mercedes-Benz vehicles for nearly three decades. It’s not a small scale operation either, the USA becoming one of the largest exporters of these brands in the world.

But with such strong heritage in Europe, why would these proudly German brands build their cars in the States?

Why are some German cars made in the USA?

Neither Mercedes-Benz nor BMW has officially announced why it decided to move manufacturing overseas. However, we can hypothesise a number of reasons, such as import costs, centrality, patriotism and government grants.

The United States consistently ranks in the top two purchasers of BMW and Mercedes-Benz, often swapping spots with China. Producing the most popular cars for a certain market in that country means you can charge the same amount as if they were made in Germany but without the bulk logistics and importation costs of luxury vehicles.

Another possible reason is the centrality of the United States. By building the cars in the US, not only have they eliminated the need to import to one of their largest customer bases, but they’ve now got land access to all North and South American countries.

Technically speaking, the US is also closer to other large markets such as Australia, China, South Africa, and Singapore, and the transport route is much more direct than that of Germany’s intercontinental markets.

Love for your country’s manufacturing industry is a little more of a hypothetical reason. American patriotism plays a big part in purchasing decisions. For example, a YouGov survey from 2024 ranked the USA number one in terms of patriotism after 41 per cent of residents thought their country was the best in the world.

Referring to a 2012 study conducted by the Canadian Centre of Science and Education on consumer purchase intention: “Some literature highlighted consumer ethnocentrism, which is another definition related to patriotism about the customers who have a tendency to buy domestic products and brands. For instance, the proportion for purchasing domestic cars by the Americans and the French is 50 per cent to 60 per cent, respectively, even though there are imported products in these countries.”

There’s no doubt that building vehicles there would be a good way to grow a product across these heavily patriotic countries.

Finally, while there was no evidence of BMW receiving government subsidies to set up shop in the USA, the state of Alabama donated 1000 acres of land to Mercedes-Benz, which now is home to the manufacturing plant, a visitor centre, and multiple test tracks.

What cars are currently manufactured in the USA?

There are also the obvious manufacturers that were born and established in the USA, such as Ford, Chevrolet, Ram, and Tesla. But, there are actually a number of vehicles, especially those ones you’d expect to be made in Japan or Germany, constructed on stars and stripes soil.

Toyota Australia currently imports its Kluger from the United States, Nissan Australia brings in the US-built Pathfinder, Honda used to produce the new generation NSX, and Subaru built the Tribeca on US soil.

BMW Australia, on the other hand, imports an enormous amount of its fleet from the USA, including the X3, X3M, X4, X4M, X5, X5M, X6, X6M, X7, and XM. Chances are, if you own a BMW SUV, it was Born in the USA.

Mercedes-Benz Australia also imports some of its most popular cars from the USA, including the GLE-Class, GLS-Class, and EQE.

BMW’s history in the USA

BMW and the United States began their alliance in 1992, when the German company announced it would build an 1150 acre factory in Spartanburg County, South Carolina.

Some of BMW’s most internationally loved cars came out of that factory in the early days, including the first generation Z3, Z3 M, Z4 and Z4 M in both Coupe and Roadster form, as well as the E36 318i, 318is and 328i (for some markets, the E36 was also produced in South Africa and Germany).

A shift in focus came when the Z4 returned to Germany for production. BMW was producing its ultra-popular X range, and in 2010, the decision was made to spend $US750 million ($AU1.2 billion) to expand the USA plant. After the expansion, all exports of the X range was now being made at the South Carolina plant, which today employs around 23,000 people.

As of 2015, it became the largest car factory in the United States by number of employees, and shifted the USA into becoming BMW’s largest single market.

As of 2018, BMW USA exports 70 per cent of its production to 125 markets and pushes out around 500,000 cars per year.

By 2019, BMW’s US factory had the highest production volume of any BMW factory in the world, including the German plant, producing a whopping 1500 cars per day.

Because Spartanburg is an inland city, most of the new vehicles churned out at the plant will be sent by rail to Charleston port to be exported to an international network.

Mercedes-Benz’s history in the USA

Mercedes-Benz’s history in the USA started when talks were in place with Daimler AG, the parent company to Mercedes-Benz, for a merger with American company Chrysler.

No doubt, to strengthen the trust between the two brands, Daimler AG put out tentative plans to build a Mercedes-Benz factory in the USA, and the state of Alabama tendered a bid and offered up 1000 acres of land for the German giant to build on. Construction started in 1993.

Fast-forward to 1997, and the first ML-Class vehicles rolled off the Tuscaloosa, Alabama plant. Then, in 1998, the merger deal between Daimler AG and Chrysler solidified, further proving that the German manufacturer belonged in the States.

The Tuscaloosa plant was a giant leap for Mercedes-Benz, being the first ever major production plant for the brand not only outside of Europe but outside of Germany.

The latest figures show that the factory currently employs around 6100 people and produces nearly 300,000 vehicles per year, two-thirds of which are exported which makes it one of the largest vehicle exporters in the country.

Furthermore, with the brand’s expansion into EVs, the batteries for the EQE are built just up the road in Bibb County, generating more jobs and further stimulating the local economy.