BMW has announced that it will transfer the manufacture of its combustion engines to its plants in the United Kingdom and Austria, adapting its German factories to the production of cars and electrical components. “By the end of 2022, all of our German factories will build at least one fully electric car,” says Milan Nedeljkovic, a member of the BMW board of directors responsible for production.
With this move, BMW joins the list of European manufacturers that will focus the production of their electric cars in their home countries to ensure employment during and after the transition to zero-emissions mobility: this is the case of Volkswagen with Germany, and PSA (Peugeot-Citroën, Opel) and Renault with France.
Thus, the BMW plant in Munich will receive an investment of 400 million euros between now and 2026 to manufacture electric cars. Today the factory is responsible for producing 4, 6, 8, and 12 cylinder heat engines. The 4 and 6 cylinder engines will be made in Steyr (Austria), and the 8 and 12 cylinder engines in Hams Hall (UK).
The factories that will monopolize the majority of BMW’s investments will be Munich, Dingolfing, and Regensburg, belonging to Bavaria, the German state from which BMW originates. Thus, Munich will be responsible for the production of the next i4 (the electric version of the Series 4 Gran Coupé), Dingolfing of the i5 and i7 (the electric versions of the Series 5 and Series 7), and Regensburg of the iX1 (the electric version of the X1).
The workforce at the Dingolfing factory dedicated to producing electric powertrains will soon double to 2,000, while Regensburg and Leipzig will be responsible for manufacturing battery modules. Besides, it must not be forgotten that this last plant will also host the next MINI Countryman production, which will have 100% electric versions.