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BMW Group's Dingolfing plant to produce BMW iNEXT

11 Dec '19

2 min read

Pic: BMW Group

The BMW Group is investing around 400 million euros in its Dingolfing vehicle plant for producing BMW iNEXT, which will become the plant’s first pure battery-electric vehicle from 2021. The plant has expertise in composite and lightweight construction and has been made capable of handling mix of steel, aluminium and CFRP (carbon fibre reinforced plastic).

Preparations are in full swing in practically all areas. In August, production was interrupted for four weeks to allow the vehicle plant to forge ahead with various construction and remodelling activities and prepare the location for new models like the BMW iNEXT.

The body shop at the heart of the plant was geared up for the BMW iNEXT several months ago. New production lines are currently being built for the body's complex floor assembly. The plant benefits to a large extent from its years of expertise in composite and lightweight construction, as well as from structures created for the current generation of the BMW 7 Series. Production at the plant was already set up for handling an innovative mix of steel, aluminium and CFRP (carbon fibre reinforced plastic) for this model.

With the launch of the BMW iNEXT in 2021, Plant Dingolfing will be capable of producing the right mix of fully-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and models with combustion engines to suit demand on a single assembly line. “Thanks to our flexible production structures, our plants are ideally equipped to meet the most diverse market needs,” explained Milan Nedeljkovic, member of the Board of Management BMW AG responsible for Production. “We firmly believe that, over the next few years, there will be more than just one solution worldwide for all our customers’ mobility needs. Instead, we expect to see a mix of different drive technologies.”

Plug-in hybrids already make up nearly 10 per cent of Dingolfing production. The BMW iNEXT will become the plant’s first pure battery-electric vehicle from 2021.

With the current investments and construction work, Plant Dingolfing is not just gearing up for the transition to e-mobility, it is also preparing for standard production of highly-automated vehicles. Nedeljkovic said: “As the technology in our cars grows more and more complex, system integration capabilities will become a decisive competitive advantage. With the BMW iNEXT, our Dingolfing location is demonstrating that we are capable of implementing growing product demands in efficient large-scale industrial production.”

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SV)