BMW in Munich, with only electric cars from 2027

2024-01-14 14:49:00, Tech CNA

BMW in Munich, with only electric cars from 2027

BMW, Munich

BMW's main factory in Munich will soon produce only electric cars. For this, the concern is investing hundreds of millions of euros so that the factory can be converted without interrupting production.

BMW wants to build only electric cars at its Munich plant in four years. The Bavarian group is investing several hundred million euros so that the factory can be converted without interrupting production.

BMW has decided to completely convert its main factory in Munich into a factory for the production of electric vehicles. "We are investing 650 million euros here and will therefore exclusively produce fully electric vehicles at our main factory from the end of 2027," said Production Board member Milan Nedeljkovic. This will mark the end of the era of combustion engine vehicles, 75 years after the introduction of the BMW 501.

Currently, almost 1,000 vehicles roll off the Munich production line every day, including the all-electric BMW 3 Series and i4, all on the same production line. Production of vehicles on the new New Class electric platform at the main plant is scheduled to begin in 2026. A year later, the plant will be the first BMW plant to completely switch from combustion engines to battery powered vehicles (BEVs).

Conversion without interrupting production

The investment of 650 million euros will be spent on the construction of a new automobile assembly plant, which will include logistics spaces and the construction of a new body shop. To create the necessary space in the central Munich plant, engine production was moved to Hams-Hall (England) and Steyr (Austria). 1,200 employees changed jobs or were transferred. According to the company, the reorganization is taking place without interrupting production.

According to Nedeljkovic, BMW launched six new all-electric models last year alone. This is how the BMW Group wants to "shape the future", declared the member of the BMW Board of Management. Just yesterday, the Group reported a significant increase in demand for electric cars: BMW delivered 330,596 electric vehicles to customers in 2023, an increase of 92.2% compared to last year, in the fourth quarter alone, this figure was 113,458.

500,000 electric vehicles will be delivered in 2024

Electric vehicles accounted for 15% of BMW's total sales in 2023 and are forecast to rise to a fifth this year. "We continue to have high demand for our fully electric products," explained Jochen Goller, member of the BMW Management Board. BMW Group aims to sell more than half a million fully electric vehicles by 2024.

However, "BMW" has not set a fixed date for the gradual abandonment of combustion engines, as is the case with Audi or Mercedes, for example. Combustion engines will be produced "as long as there is a need for them", Group Chief Executive Oliver Zipse, who has criticized the EU for a politically imposed phase-out of combustion engines from 2035, has said on several occasions.

In future, petrol and diesel engines for BMW models will come from factories in the UK and Austria. In other markets, such as the US or China, the engines will be produced locally.

Investors reacted cautiously on the stock market, where the share price for BMW fell slightly after the announcement. It fell minimally by 0.3%, to 100.48 euros./ DW