BMW has completely relocated the production of internal combustion engines to Steyr in Austria and Hams Hall in the UK. The company announced the move in November 2020, and the last eight-cylinder engine was assembled at the Munich plant in November 2023. After 60 years of engine production in Munich, this is a turning point for Bayerische Motorenwerke.
The latter plant will be converted for the production of electric vehicles. The all-electric BMW i4 has been built in Munich since October 2021. As reported, the New Class will also roll off the production line at the main plant from 2026. BMW is investing around 400 million euros to convert the existing engine assembly line for vehicle production.
The 1,200 workers who used to work on engines will be trained for other roles and moved to different BMW locations in the future. They may either work at the BMW Munich plant or other locations. In 2020, BMW made a big investment in this change which was welcomed by the Works Council. They talked about it as an example of a successful transformation in German industry.
This transformation will further shape BMW's Bavarian network for producing electric cars. The i4 is already made in Munich, and the iX, i7, and i5 are produced in Dingolfing. The iX1 and iX2 electric SUVs are created in Regensburg, with other plants participating in component production. Electric drive production occurs in Dingolfing. Additionally, a battery test center is under construction at the Wackersdorf plant.
At the end of September, the residents of the German municipality of Strasskirchen also decided in a referendum that BMW should be allowed to build its planned battery assembly plant there. In the future, BMW will assemble the delivered battery cells into ready-to-install battery packs centrally at the site and then distribute them to the neighbouring vehicle plants.
Source: BR
