Magnetics Business & Technology - January/February 2025 - 15

FEATURE ARTICLE
Group Plant Munich. Beginning in 2026, the iconic parent plant
will produce the Neue Klasse sedan. Just one year later, the
factory will manufacture nothing but all-electric models, making
the Munich plant the first location in the BMW Group's existing
production network to have successfully completed the transformation
to E-mobility from the end of 2027.
" The Munich plant is an excellent example of our ability to adapt.
We are investing €650 million here and will produce exclusively
all-electric vehicles in our parent plant from the end of 2027, "
says Milan Nedeljković, Member of the Board of Management of
BMW AG, Production. " Last year alone, six all-electric models
went into production. At the same time, we also set a production
record, proving that we are simultaneously able to both deliver
and shape the future in our production network. "
Electrifying the Araquari plant in Brazil
BMW is strengthening its involvement in Brazil by electrifying the
production site at Araquari. Following a historic sales record for
electrified vehicles in Brazil last year, the company has committing
to local production of the BMW X5, the very first premium
plug-in hybrid model built in South America.
Peter Weber, Director BMW Group Plant Munich, adds: " Munich
is the beating heart of BMW. The plant in Munich is innovative
and adaptable. As in the 1960s, a Neue Klasse is again laying
the foundation, on which our plant is reinventing itself. The fact
that this comprehensive transformation is taking place at the
same time as roughly 1,000 vehicles per day are currently being
manufactured is common practice in Munich. We are delighted
to be guiding the Munich plant into a fully-electric future - starting
with the Neue Klasse sedan. "
BMW Group Plant Munich is a prime example of the fluent transition
to the era of electromobility. In 2015, the first plug-in hybrid
models from the BMW 3 Series were manufactured on the same
production line as combustion vehicles. In 2021, the BMW i4
became the first all-electric vehicle to be produced on the same
production line. Nowadays, every second vehicle that rolls off the
production line has an all-electric drive system.
Hybrid BMW X5 leads the way for new production expansion in
Brazil
" At the BMW Group, production follows market demand. Last
year, BMW Group Brazil achieved a record of 25% share of
electrified vehicles within the sales mix. In addition, the BMW X5
was the third-best model of the entire BMW line-up in Brazil. It
is a logical conclusion for us to announce the production of the
BMW X5 plug-in hybrid in Brazil now, " says Michael Nikolaides,
Head of Production Network and Logistics at BMW Group. " We
are committed to technology openness. In this context, PHEVs
are and will remain an important part of our offering. Now, for the
first time, we are bringing this technology to a South American
production facility. The BMW Group plant in Araquari has a flexible
production line. I am proud to say that Plant Araquari will be
the only one to produce ICE, PHEV, and Flex-fuel models in the
whole BMW Group production network. Depending on market
demand, we can get ready to produce hybrid or electric models
in a short period of time. In the next step, we will build PHEV and
ICE vehicles on one line. "
New era dawns in Munich
Nowhere is the transformation more dramatic than at BMW
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January/February 2025 * Magnetics Business & Technology 15
From 2026, production of the Neue Klasse in the Munich plant
will initially run parallel to production of current models. A good
year later, from the end of 2027, the BMW Group's parent plant
will be the first existing site in the global production network to
manufacture exclusively all-electric vehicles, having been transformed
accordingly. As such, the era of vehicles with combustion
engines in Munich will draw to a close 75 years after the launch
of the BMW 501 in 1952.
X3 M50 xDrive is one of several new e-propulsion systems designed
by BMW
After the start in the new plant in Debrecen, Hungary, and in
Munich, the Neue Klasse vehicles will also be produced in
Shenyang, China, and San Luis Potosí in Mexico. For more info,
see www.bmw.com.
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Magnetics Business & Technology - January/February 2025

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