Just a small caveat to this record: This headline is a little misleading since BMW brags about being the largest export "by value." A BMW factory worker does not get paid twice as much as a Ford factory worker (nor are there twice as many of them) just because the car sells for twice as much. To take this claim to its logical if silly conclusion, if someone manufactured a single car that costs $10.2B and sold it to someone abroad, they would take this record away from BMW.
That pesky fact aside, BMW definitely bears a strong economic impact to SC. In addition to the 11k employees there, a number of suppliers have set up shop nearby:
https://www.supplychaindive.com/news...in-hub/587246/