BMW is Making its Production Flexible for Electrification

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Up until now, BMW i models have been produced at separate plants in Leipzig, Germany. In future, however, vehicles with internal combustion engines and hybrid drive systems, as well as electric cars, should be able to roll off a single production line according to various media reports. “Nobody knows how many electric vehicles you’ll sell in 2020, 2021 and 2025. You don’t know how many plug-in hybrids you will sell, and you don’t know how many combustion engines you will sell”, says BMW CEO Harald Kruger in an interview with "Automotive News". 

To meet this challenge, BMW intends to develop variable platforms that are compatible with all three drive types. In addition, BMW’s plants are to be converted to flexible production so that they can manufacture based on demand.

The Mini electric car will launch in 2019

The car maker currently has nine electrified models in its range. Production of its battery-electric Mini will begin at its British plant in Oxford at the end of 2019. The electrification of new models will begin in 2020 with the SUV BMW X3; the new generation of the 3-Series saloon should also be available in three versions. The electric car BMW inext is expected to roll off the production line in Dingolfing, Germany, in 2021. BMW claims that it has since become the third largest BEV/PHEV producer in the world.