Bmw, only electric cars in Munich from 2027. 650 million invested

The Bmw group will invest EUR 650 million to convert its historic main plant in Munich, in which it has been making cars and engines since 1922. The aim: to produce exclusively electric vehicles from the end of 2027. This is another important step, in the framework of the plan that has allocated 30 billion from 2020 to 2025, confirming that the transition to the electric era, as the other major car manufacturers have already said, is a road with no return. The company led by CEO Oliver Zipse is constructing four buildings, including a new assembly line and a body shop, and has moved the production of 'traditional', internal combustion engines (ICE) to Great Britain and Austria. A total of 1,200 employees will be retrained or transferred. More than 36,000 people are currently employed at the plants in Munich, Dingolfing and Regensburg, Bavaria.

Unlike other manufacturers, however, BMW has not set its own target for ceasing production of Ice-powered cars, but has taken a critical stance against the Brussels decision to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the European Union from 2035.

As announced just yesterday, along with the 2023 results, which saw an all-time sales record for the Group at 2.55 million, all-electric vehicles accounted for 15 per cent of sales. The target is 20% in the current year.

In recent months, car manufacturers have reported that sales of electric vehicles are not living up to previous forecasts, mainly due to economic conditions and the cost of financing. These factors, coupled with inflation and monetary policies, are weighing on consumers just when production rates had resumed to ensure the necessary volumes after the problematic two-year period for supply chains.

The Munich-based manufacturer previewed its car of the future, the Neue Klasse, at the IAA, the Munich Motor Show, last September. The name comes from a line of cars made between 1962 and 1972. The high- and mid-range models were marketed, quite simply, under the name of the displacement. The modern, electric version of the Neue Klasse, roughly the size of the current 3-series bestseller, will be built at the new Munich plant as early as 2026, together with the latest Ice models. It will also be produced in Shenyang, China, and San Luis Potosi, Mexico. But the new debrecen (CO2-free) plant in Hungary will be the first to use the new platform, from 2025.