The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that BMW plans to begin producing electric vehicles in the United States by the end of the year, a contrarian move when many carmakers are slowing investment in the technology. A New York Times dispatch to The Globe says that the iX5, a midsize electric SUV, will be the first new EV to roll off the assembly line at the German carmaker's factory in Spartanburg, S.C. By 2030, the company plans to produce six electric models at the plant, one of its most important and largest outside Germany. Other automakers have delayed or cancelled EV projects in recent months and recorded multibillion-dollar losses as a result. They have been responding to weak U.S. sales after Congress eliminated subsidies for EV purchases. BMW exports about half the vehicles it makes in Spartanburg, where it produced more than 400,000 vehicles last year. Exports allow BMW to benefit from strong demand for EVs in Europe, where they account for 20 per cent of new vehicle sales. That compares with about per cent in the U.S. Last year, Ford stopped producing its F-150 Lightning; General Motors and Stellantis, the maker of Jeep and Ram vehicles, also revised their plans and booked losses on EVs.