BMW Group Plant Dingolfing is gearing up for higher future demand for electric drive trains by investing in extensive remodelling and expansion measures. A mid-double-digit-million-euro amount will be channelled into structural measures and equipment to produce batteries for the all-electric MINI alone. Covering an area of around 6,000 square metres in the west wing of the Dingolfing component plant 02.20, equipment for manufacturing battery modules will be set up, along with a battery assembly line. The first systems are currently being installed and will be tested sequentially.
The fully electric MINI will be built in Oxford in the south of England, starting in late 2019. Batteries for the car will come from the new battery production facility in Dingolfing, with electric engines from the neighbouring BMW Group Plant in Landshut. As a result, the new innovation leader for the British premium small car-brand will have “English apparel and a Bavarian heart”.
From 2020, the plant in Dingolfing will also produce fifth-generation electric drive systems for the BMW Group’s future electrified vehicles, like the BMW iX3, the BMW i4 and the BMW iNEXT. The extensive remodelling and preparatory measures needed for this are already underway. In recognition of its growing importance and key role within the production network, the component plant 02.20 will now be renamed the “BMW Group Competence Centre e-drive production”.
Plant 02.20, one of the oldest sections of the Dingolfing plant cluster, has produced batteries and electric motors for BMW Group plug-in hybrid models since 2015. It was the headquarters of the BMW Group’s global spare parts distribution for many decades. Parts distribution was gradually relocated to new warehouses in Wallersdorf and Bruckberg a few years ago, opening up space for the new “Competence Centre e-drive production”. More than 300 people are currently employed there.
