June 30 (Reuters) - BMW on Tuesday announced the completion of a $1.7 billion investment ‌in its production plants in South ‌Carolina, gearing up for the launch of fully electric ​vehicle production in the country.

• The German carmaker said it completed the expansion of its main plant in Spartanburg as well as ‌the construction of ⁠a new plant in Woodruff

• BMW's iX5 SUV will be its ⁠first fully electric model made in the U.S., starting from late 2026

• At least five ​more fully ​electric models are ​scheduled to be ‌assembled in the U.S. by 2030

• The Spartanburg plant, which exports around half of its output, caters to the European SUV market and others

• On June 16, the European Parliament ‌voted to approve cutting ​duties on many U.S. goods ​imports

• "The completion ​of our investments in Plant Spartanburg ‌and Plant Woodruff demonstrates ​our confidence ​in the United States and reinforces South Carolina's role at the center of ​BMW Group's ‌global operations," CEO Milan Nedeljkovic said

(Reporting by ​Simon Ferdinand Eibach and Rachel More, ​Editing by Linda Pasquini)