BMW is reportedly going to officially introduce an all-new model today, March 28, at their Spartanburg production plant in South Carolina. The model in question is the X7 full-size SUV which was cancelled back in 2008 amid the financial crisis. It is no back on track, set for market launch in 2017 or 2018.

The production of the BMW X7 will accomplish a number of goals for the German automaker. First, it gives them a seven-seat, large SUV which means they can now compete with the Mercedes GL which is basically running away with the marketplace in America. Audi is also working on a similar product, called the Q9.

More importantly, the X7 production at Spartanburg will help expand annual capacity to 400,000 units. That is exactly why the new X4 activity coupe was produced. With it, the plant is on track to hit its 350K a year production target. The Spartanburg is BMW’s second biggest production facility in the world, responsible mainly for the crossovers and SUVs, including X3, X5 and X6.

The 2017 BMW X7 will be based upon the same platform as other X series models, but it will be a lot larger to answer the demand for a properly-sized BMW SUV in America. Unsurprisingly, a lot of Americans find the X5, which is a pretty sizeable thing by European standards, too small to be comfy.

Via Autonews