BMW Fine-Tunes Global Battery Production Start-Up

With the arrival of the Neue Klasse generation of electric vehicles, the BMW Group is fine-tuning the details for series production of batteries, which will begin in Europe at the end of 2025.

The program is taking shape at two pilot plants in the Bavarian towns of Parsdorf and Hallbergmoos, as well as at the Research and Innovation Center (FIZ) in Munich.

These locations strengthen German innovation capabilities while laying the foundation for series production plants around the world, including San Luis Potosí, to ensure a gradual and smooth increase in volume.

In addition to Mexico, high-voltage batteries for the sixth generation of the BMW eDrive electric drive train (Gen6) will be produced in Irlbach-Straßkirchen, Lower Bavaria; Debrecen, Hungary; Shenyang, China; and Woodruff, South Carolina.

Focus: Zero Defects

For the internally developed Gen6 high-voltage battery, the BMW Group is implementing intelligent, state-of-the-art production processes using the latest technologies.

“For the production of our high-voltage batteries, we are pursuing a consistent zero-defect approach,” explains Markus Fallböhmer, Head of Battery Production at BMW AG.

The approach includes highly intelligent, AI-supported quality controls, as in the Neue Klasse bodies, the battery serves as a structural component of the vehicle, known as “pack to open body.”

The round cylindrical cells will be integrated directly into the high-voltage battery using innovative production processes derived from digital production simulations and the use of expanded AI databases to optimize supply and production logistics.

All production steps undergo continuous online monitoring with comprehensive data storage, enabling maximum process stability and continuous data-driven optimization.

The largest pilot plant, Parsdorf, employs more than 350 people who have been building initial prototypes since 2023.

Since mid-2024, some of the high-voltage batteries produced there have already been delivered to the vehicle plant in Debrecen, Hungary, where they were installed in test prototypes for the Neue Klasse.

There is also a pre-series plant for high-voltage batteries near Munich Airport. Since summer 2024, the site in Hallbergmoos has been developing manufacturing technologies for the assembly of high-voltage batteries. Around 200 employees work in this small battery factory.

The systems and processes developed in the pilot plants in Bavaria will be implemented in series production plants worldwide. In less than two years, series production will be ramped up at five locations on three continents.

In line with its “local for local” principle, the BMW Group has positioned its Gen6 high-voltage battery assembly sites as close as possible to its vehicle plants.

This approach ensures production even in the event of unforeseen political and economic developments. It will also strengthen existing production sites while preserving and creating jobs.

Series production of the BMW iX3, the first model of the Neue Klasse, will begin at the Debrecen plant at the end of this year, together with the manufacture of high-voltage batteries at the same site.

The launch in Debrecen will be followed by battery assembly plants in Shenyang, Irlbach-Straßkirchen, Woodruff, and San Luis Potosí.