The BMW Group is expanding its production network to support fully electric driving with the Neue Klasse, which will rely heavily on the production of advanced high-voltage batteries.
Neue Klasse is BMW’s forthcoming line of fully electric vehicles. Scheduled to debut in 2025, these vehicles will feature BMW’s sixth-generation high-voltage batteries with improved energy density, charging times and range. The company is implementing a “local for local” strategy, establishing new battery production facilities close to vehicle assembly plants globally, including in Hungary, Germany, China, Mexico and the USA.
Milan Nedeljković, board member for production at BMW, said, “We are setting up five facilities on three continents to produce our sixth-generation high-voltage batteries. Close connection of battery production with vehicle production is part of our strategy.”
The Neue Klasse will feature all-new cylindrical cells, produced at new facilities located near vehicle plants, including Irlbach-Strasskirchen (Lower Bavaria), Debrecen (Hungary), Woodruff (near Plant Spartanburg, USA), Shenyang (China) and San Luis Potosí (Mexico).
Hungary
The first Neue Klasse vehicles will be produced at BMW’s new plant in Debrecen, Hungary, starting in 2025. High-voltage battery and vehicle manufacturing will commence simultaneously. The Debrecen site is already operational, with employees in training since autumn 2023, preparing for a smooth start to pre-series production and a successful series launch in the second half of 2025. Final construction of the facilities is nearing completion, with handover expected by the end of the year.
Germany
In Germany, BMW will manufacture high-voltage batteries for Neue Klasse models at a new facility in Irlbach-Strasskirchen, Lower Bavaria. Construction began in April 2024, with the first pillars of the production hall erected in June 2024. The building is expected to be enclosed by the end of the year. Local citizens supported BMW’s arrival in a referendum held in September 2023.
Prototype battery cells for the Neue Klasse, launching in 2025, are already being produced at BMW’s Cell Manufacturing Competence Centre (CMCC) in Parsdorf, near Munich. The CMCC complements the Battery Cell Competence Centre (BCCC) in Munich, focusing on scaling up the best product for series production. This close collaboration between development, purchasing and production integrates product and process innovations. BMW operates additional pre-series plants and pilot lines for future high-voltage batteries in Munich and nearby towns Parsdorf and Hallbergmoos.
China
Starting in 2026, Neue Klasse vehicles will also be produced by BMW Brilliance Automotive in Shenyang, China, with local manufacturing of sixth-generation high-voltage batteries. The production hall, completed in November 2023, has been installing plant and machinery since March 2024. BMW has also expanded its largest R&D network outside Germany in preparation for the launch, with facilities in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang and Nanjing.
Mexico
In San Luis Potosí, Mexico, BMW is establishing additional production capacity for the Neue Klasse, set to begin in 2027. Construction of a new high-voltage battery assembly plant began in May 2024, with over 80,000 square meters of production space planned. The plant’s body shop, vehicle assembly and logistics spaces will also expand. BMW aims to generate over 20% of the plant’s electricity demand through expanded photovoltaic systems, making it a pioneer in fully electric car and battery production in Mexico.
USA
In South Carolina, BMW’s Woodruff plant will cover 93 hectares and include various facilities to support high-voltage battery production for fully electric cars made in nearby Plant Spartanburg. Construction will be complete in 2026, creating over 300 jobs. The ground-breaking ceremony for the first building, the training center, took place in June 2023.
