BMW: We’re not bringing North American HQ to Carolinas

Even as they look to land an auto factory, North Carolina economic developers also would like to lure an automaker’s North American headquarters.

But BMW, for one, says it won’t be moving south from its New Jersey home, despite plans to expand its Greer, S.C., plant into the largest BMW factory in the world.

North Carolina tried to lure such a headquarters already this year, and showed a willingness to lay out serious incentives money. The state offered Toyota $107 million worth of incentives in an attempt to attract its North American headquarters to Charlotte, along with 4,000 jobs. The Japanese automaker instead chose Plano, Texas.

“An automotive headquarters can be just as impactful” as a factory, said N.C. Commerce Secretary Sharon Decker. “We’ve been talking to a number of companies.”

BMW’s North American headquarters is located in Woodcliff Lake, N.J., outside New York City. The company has had a long-running dispute with the town over its property tax bill. The case was resolved earlier this year, partially in BMW’s favor.

Decker declined to say whether North Carolina has talked with BMW about relocating its North American headquarters. “We will attempt to attract any auto HQ that has an interest in relocation,” she said.

BMW employees in Greer said the idea of relocating the North American headquarters had been bandied about casually among workers for years, but never seriously.

But when asked about the possibility of relocating to the Carolinas, a BMW executive was quick to say the company has no plans to do so.

“There is absolutely no truth to the rumor about a possible move,” said spokesman Kenn Sparks. “We are very much at home in our headquarters complex here in Woodcliff Lake, and there are no plans at all to move.”

This story was originally published November 14, 2014 at 6:24 PM with the headline "BMW: We’re not bringing North American HQ to Carolinas."