BMW Group is accelerating its shift toward electromobility and strengthening its global network for production of electrified vehicles. To this end, it is investing €400m (US$480m) in the main plant in Munich to accommodate new vehicle assembly and concentrating its European production activities for internal combustion engines at the Steyr and Hams Hall locations.
“We are systematically implementing our electrification strategy. By the end of 2022, each of our German plants will be producing at least one fully electric vehicle,” explained Milan Nedeljković, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Production. “We are capable of producing both vehicles with combustion engines and electric drivetrains on a single line and responding flexibly to customer requests.”
The new assembly in Munich will be built on the site currently used for engine production. The IC produced there with four, six, eight and 12 cylinders will be now be manufactured at the company’s locations in Steyr in Austria and Hams Hall in the UK going forward. “Restructuring our engine production network is a strategic move geared toward the future. We are also boosting our efficiency and optimizing our capacity utilization,” added Nedeljković.
At the same time, the BMW Group is expanding its capacity for manufacturing electric drivetrains. The company is investing in production equipment for highly integrated e-drives and high-voltage batteries at the Competence Centre for E-Drive Production in Dingolfing. The Leipzig and Regensburg locations are also currently setting up equipment for production of battery modules and high-voltage batteries from 2021. In parallel, the company is also increasing production capacity for e-drive housings at Plant Steyr.
“Allocating capacity in this way places a deliberate emphasis on the flexibility of our plants and makes them more efficient and more competitive. Long-term agreements with employee representatives also play an important part in this,” concluded Nedeljković.