A new facility for the production of future BMW electric vehicles (EVs) has been completed at the BMW Group site in Steyr, Austria.
With around 60,000 square metres of production space, construction of the 105 by 150-metre building began in September 2022, and its topping-out ceremony took place exactly one year later.
BMW Group Head of Electric Drives Helmut Hochsteiner noted the development and installation of the Neue Klasse ‘e-drives’ production facility is proceeding as planned.
“Now comes the next important stage, which is no less ambitious than the construction of the halls themselves,” said Hochsteiner.
Over the next few months, around 300 specific items of plant and equipment that is worth over €500 million (AU$800 million) will need to be installed, ready for pre-series production to launch as planned in July 2024.
“The 300 machines are all shapes and sizes, from small, individual items to the over 30 metre-long ‘marriage’ station. Here, four robots and other systems will work in concert to fit the transmission to the main motor,” said Hochsteiner.
BMW AG Senior VP of Engine Production and Steyr Plant Director Klaus von Moltke outlined the economic dimensions of the project, as he said: “We are investing a total of more than €500 million in plant and equipment for Steyr, offering further confirmation of the BMW Group’s commitment to the site.
“Series production of e-drives for the Neue Klasse is scheduled for launch in the autumn of 2025.”
The ‘inaugural inhabitant’ is a crane that will transport power electronics components from the first floor, where the inverter will be installed in a clean room, to the bottom floor for final assembly.
The BMW Group intends to invest around €1 billion (AU$1.6 billion) on ‘e-drive’ production at its Steyr site by 2030.
The plant is expected to produce over 600,000 e-drives per year, in addition to diesel and petrol engines.
