BMW is excited about numbers. Specifically, execs are thrilled about the millionth X5 SUV that today rolled off a production line in South Carolina: a sapphire-black xDrive 35i with a brown leather interior.

Bets are that South Carolinians care about another number -- 5,000. That's the number of workers employed at BMW's 1,150-acre campus. Or, maybe they're excited about $4.6 billion. That's how much BMW has paid its workers since it opened the Spartanburg, S.C., plant 15 years ago.

They are the kind of numbers that no politician can resist:

"This is a day of great pride for all South Carolinians and the BMW family," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who was not at the event. "It is a testament to the quality of the S.C. workforce, the supply chain, and to BMW, one of the greatest automobile manufacturers in the world."

BMW's plant has become an integral part of the South Carolinian economy, accounting for over 1% of the state's total GDP, according to a University of South Carolina study. When accounting for suppliers, the factory adds 23,000 jobs to South Carolina's economy and generates over $1 billion in wages annually.

The Spartanburg factory opened in 1994 and has produced over 1.6 million vehicles, including the X5, X6 and the Z3 Roadster. Recently another $750 million was invested to upgrade the factory and get it ready to produce the next-generation BMW X3.

The X5 got high crash test marks from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. USA TODAY's James R. Healey, however, wasn't crazy about the diesel version.

That millionth X5? Won't be around for long. BMW plans to export it, just as it exports about 60% of the vehicles it makes in Spartanburg.

--Charlie Szold/ Drive On