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maggio 02, 2017 - BMW

BMW Group relying on innovation capabilities of German production locations for electro-mobility expansion

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BMW Group Plant Dingolfing to produce #bmw iNEXT from 2021Plants will be able to build vehicles with combustion engine, plug-inhybrid or fully electric drive train in parallel.

Munich/Dingolfing. The #bmw Group today announced its plans to expand electro-mobility. At a meeting with Bavarian State Minister of Economic Affairs, Ilse Aigner, OliverZipse, member of the Board of Management of the #bmw Group, responsible for Productionsaid: “The #bmw Group is a pioneer and an innovator in electro-mobility. We will beginproducing the fully electric #bmw iNEXT here at our Dingolfing plant in 2021. This decisionwill further strengthen our German production locations, which, with their innovationcapabilities, play a leading role all across our production network. In the area of electro-mobility, in particular, our aim is to ensure end-to-end systems expertise within the company.

”BMW Group plants worldwide will benefit from the German sites’ production expertise andtechnology knowhow. At nine locations around the globe, the company already producesnine electrified models, including eight plug-in hybrids. The all-electric #bmw i3, which ismanufactured at #bmw Group Plant Leipzig, will be joined by the first fully electric MINI in2019, a fully electric #bmw X3 in 2020 and the #bmw iNEXT from 2021. The Dingolfing plantdoes produce components such as high-voltage batteries and electric engines for these vehicles.

Oliver Zipse: “Going forward, the #bmw production system will create structures that enableour production facilities to build models with a combustion engine, plug-in hybrid or fullyelectric drive train at the same time. This will give us unique flexibility and put us in an optimal position on the cost side.” 

BMW Group Plant Dingolfing: Competence Centre for components for fully and partially electrified vehicles

With its long experience in the field of electro-mobility, state-of-the-art production equipment and specially trained staff, the Dingolfing location, together with the Landshut plant, forms the #bmw Group’s competence centre for the production of high-voltage batteries and electric engines. Dingolfing has been producing high-voltage batteries for #bmw i models since 2013. In recent years, new production lines for high-voltage batteries and electric engines for #bmw Group plug-in hybrids have also been installed. Dingolfing additionally builds the plug-in hybrid versions of the #bmw 5 Series and the #bmw 7 Series. From 2021, the plant will also produce a fully electric vehicle on site: the #bmw iNEXT. Dingolfing will therefore become the second #bmw Group location after Leipzig to build a fully electric #bmw i vehicle.

Dr. Andreas Wendt, head of #bmw Group Plant Dingolfing: “Dingolfing has a lot of experience and expertise in ramping up complex products – making it the ideal location for production of the #bmw iNEXT. With its pure-electric drive train, larger dimensions and new technologies, such as autonomous driving and digital connectivity, the #bmw iNEXT will be a real innovation driver. We are proud to have the opportunity to build this car here in Dingolfing. This year, we will be celebrating BMW’s 50th anniversary in Lower Bavaria. For me, the #bmw iNEXT clearly signals the start of a new era and our intention to make the next 50 years just as successful.”

The #bmw Group has invested a total of more than 100 million euros in electro-mobility at the Dingolfing site to date, making the plant more competitive for the future and securing jobs. Several hundred Dingolfing employees already work in areas related to e-mobility. Further jobs will be created over the medium term as production ramps up. Stefan Schmid, Chairman of the Works Council at Plant Dingolfing: “At Dingolfing, we put our faith in e-mobility and the creation of sustainable jobs at an early stage. That is now paying off. The #bmw iNEXT will help ensure the plant’s workload over the next few years and secure its technological edge. This will enable us to offer employees good prospects for the future.”


Electrification of model series moving forwards
The #bmw Group is the world’s third-largest manufacturer of electric vehicles and delivered over 62,000 electrified vehicles to customers last year, including more than 25,500 fully electric #bmw i3s. With 2,864 new vehicle registrations in 2016 (+ 26%), the all-electric BMW i3 was the most successful electric vehicle in Germany. In the first quarter of 2017, the company delivered almost 20,000 electrified models to customers around the world. The aim is to sell a total of 100,000 electrified vehicles worldwide this year. By 2025, the #bmw Group expects electrified vehicles to account for between 15-25% of sales. With its high level of flexibility, the #bmw Group production system can respond
quickly to changing market demands and will be able to integrate different drive forms directly into ongoing production as required.


Ilka Horstmeier, head of Production Engines and Electrified Powertrain: “Flexibility is a key success factor in production of electric drive components. Our adaptive production system is responsive and innovative: If needed, we can double our manufacturing volumes in the space of 12 months and respond quickly to growing customer demand. Thanks to our standardised modular system for so-called eDrive components, we are also capable of producing electric engines and high-voltage batteries with different sizes, performance and structural shape. We can increase the percentage of electric drive trains in line with demand in individual sales regions.”


BMW Group Plant Leipzig at the heart of the #bmw i success story
Ten years ago, development of a fully electric #bmw Group vehicle got underway with the launch of project i. #bmw Group Plant Leipzig has made a decisive contribution to this undertaking: As the nucleus of electro-mobility at the company, the plant has produced the BMW i3 since 2013 and the #bmw i8 since 2014. Project i laid the foundation for the new production technologies and processes that made this development possible. This technological knowhow is not only reflected in the qualities of #bmw eDrive components, but also in flexible and quality-based production at Plant Dingolfing.