Think global – act local for local: Where the BMW Group will make its next generation of high-voltage batteries

Munich. The Neue Klasse will usher in a new era of
fully electric driving at the BMW Group – the success of which will
depend heavily on the production of powerful high-voltage batteries.
That’s why the BMW Group is expanding its production network for the
next generation of high-voltage batteries significantly. “We are
setting up five facilities on three continents to produce our
sixth-generation high-voltage batteries,” explained Milan Nedeljković,
Board Member for Production at BMW AG. Across the globe, the principle
of “local for local” will apply: “Close connection of battery
production with vehicle production is part of our strategy,”
explains Markus Fallböhmer, Senior Vice President of Battery
Production at BMW AG. This helps the BMW Group increase the resilience
of its production.

Battery and vehicle production closely connected

The Neue Klasse will be the first to incorporate the all-new
cylindrical cells. These represent a technological leap by the BMW
Group, offering vastly improved energy density, charging times and
range. They will be assembled in new facilities located as closely as
possible to vehicle plants, in keeping with the principle of “local
for local”. State-of-the-art assembly plants for sixth-generation
high-voltage batteries are currently under construction in
Irlbach-Strasskirchen (Lower Bavaria), Debrecen (Hungary), Woodruff
(near Plant Spartanburg in the US), Shenyang (China) and San Luis
Potosí, Mexico. With the “local for local” approach in place,
production will be able to continue even when unexpected political or
economic events occur. In addition, short distances between battery
and vehicle plants will reduce the carbon footprint of car production.
The BMW Group is also upgrading its existing sites and therefore
securing and creating jobs.

Neue Klasse to launch first at Plant Debrecen in 2025

The first Neue Klasse vehicles will be produced at the BMW Group’s
new plant in Debrecen, starting in 2025. High-voltage battery and
vehicle manufacturing will launch in parallel. With the training
centre in Debrecen open since autumn 2023 and the communications
centre in use since February 2024, a large number of employees are
already at work in their offices at the site. The production team,
meanwhile, are preparing for their new jobs at various locations
across the BMW Group production network. This will ensure a smooth
start to pre-series production and a successful series launch in the
second half of 2025. Currently, the final buildings are being
completed. They will be handed over to the technologies by the end of
the year.

High-voltage batteries from Lower Bavaria

The BMW Group is also going to manufacture high-voltage batteries for
Neue Klasse models in Germany – specifically in Irlbach-Straßkirchen,
in Lower Bavaria. The new facility will supply sixth-generation
high-voltage batteries to German car plants. The BMW Group was granted
permission to build the new high-voltage battery assembly plant in
April 2024 and erected the first of pillar for the production hall in
late June 2024. The production building is scheduled to be enclosed
with facade and roof by the end of the year. The citizens of
Straßkirchen had previously voted in favour of the BMW Group coming to
their area, with a clear majority in the referendum of September 2023.

China to produce the Neue Klasse from 2026

From 2026 Neue Klasse vehicles will also be made by BMW Brilliance
Automotive (BBA) in Shenyang, China. Here, too, the sixth-generation
high-voltage batteries required for the cars will be manufactured
locally. The production hall was completed in November 2023 after a
construction time of only 21 months. The installation of plant and
machinery has been underway since March 2024. Preparing for the launch
of the Neue Klasse, the BMW Group has also set up its largest R&D
network outside Germany, with facilities in Beijing, Shanghai,
Shenyang and Nanjing.

Neue Klasse in Mexico from 2027

At San Luis Potosí in Mexico, additional production capacity is being
established for series production of the Neue Klasse to start in 2027.
Construction of the new high-voltage battery assembly plant started in
May 2024 and will comprise more than 80,000 square metres of
production space when completed. But the integration of battery
assembly is not all that’s changing at Plant San Luis Potosí: the
bodyshop is set to grow to more than 90,000 square metres in total,
while vehicle assembly and logistics spaces will expand by nearly
10,000 square metres. The BMW Group is the first premium OEM to
manufacture fully electric cars and high-voltage batteries in Mexico –
and a pioneer in the industry. Additionally, the company plans to
expand the photovoltaic systems within the plant and thus double the
power generated from photovoltaics. This is intended to generate more
than 20 percent of the current electricity demand directly on the
plant premises in the future.

BMW Group Plant Woodruff: High-voltage batteries for Spartanburg

Electromobility is also advancing in South Carolina. BMW Group Plant
Woodruff will cover an area of about 93 hectares and consist of a
technology building, ancillary structures, an energy centre, a staff
restaurant, a fire department and a Talent Campus. It will create more
than 300 new jobs with the BMW Group. When construction reaches
completion in 2026, Woodruff will assemble high-voltage batteries for
fully electric cars made in nearby Plant Spartanburg. The
ground-breaking ceremony for the first building in Woodruff – the
training centre – was in June 2023.

Battery expertise concentrated in Parsdorf and Munich

Prototype battery cells like the ones in the Neue Klasse, launching
in 2025, are already being made at the BMW Group’s Cell Manufacturing
Competence Centre (CMCC) in Parsdorf, just east of Munich. The CMCC
was built to complement the Battery Cell Competence Centre (BCCC) in
the north of the city, where development work is carried out. The CMCC
scales up the best product for series production. Product and process
are uniquely interlinked by the close collaboration across divisions,
between Development, Purchasing and Production. The BMW Group operates
further pre-series plants and pilot lines for future high-voltage
batteries in Munich and the nearby towns of Parsdorf and Hallbergmoos.