Munich.
The BMW Group continues to expand its electro-mobility
activities. In conjunction with its partner, Brilliance China
Automotive Holdings Ltd., the BMW Group opened a new “High-Voltage
Battery Centre” in Shenyang, China today. The battery factory will
supply the nearby Dadong plant, which is operated by the BMW
Brilliance Automotive (BBA) joint venture and will produce the BMW 5
Series Plug-in Hybrid for the local market.
Oliver Zipse, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG,
responsible for Production: “The innovative High-Voltage Battery
Centre in Shenyang is an important step in the BMW Group’s
electro-mobility strategy. It is the first battery factory of any
premium automotive manufacturer in China and already the third in
our production network, after Germany and the US.”
The BMW Group is integrating its battery factories into the
existing international production network. Oliver Zipse: “By 2025,
we expect our electrified BMW and MINI models to account for between
15 and 25 per cent of global sales. This adds up to several hundred
thousand vehicles per year. It therefore makes sense for us to
integrate electro-mobility into the existing production system.”
Doing so will enable the BMW Group to respond flexibly to demand for
electrified models.
Competitive edge through in-house know-how
Alongside the electric motor, the high-voltage battery is a
central element of partially and fully-electrified vehicles.
In-house production gives the BMW Group a decisive competitive
advantage by securing know-how in new technologies, gaining key
systems expertise and leveraging cost benefits. The company already
produces electrified vehicles at ten locations worldwide. The
high-voltage batteries needed for these models come from the BMW
Group plants in Dingolfing, Spartanburg and now also Shenyang. The
Dingolfing plant will play a leading role within the network as the
centre of competence for electric drive systems.
From cell to high-voltage battery
Production of high-voltage batteries is divided into two
production stages. First, in a highly-automated process, supplied
lithium-ion cells, which are about the size of a paperback book, are
checked and then combined into a larger unit, the so-called battery module.
The battery modules are then mounted together with the
connections, control units and cooling units in an aluminium
housing. The size and shape of the aluminium housing, as well as the
number of battery modules used, depends on the vehicle variant. In
this way, a perfectly adapted “battery pack” or
high-voltage battery is created.
This combination of standardised battery modules and housings
flexibly adapted to the vehicle has several advantages: It ensures
uniform properties and quality standards in the production of
high-voltage batteries. The modular design of the high-voltage
batteries also forms the basis for a wide variety of electric drive
variants. Last but not least, this modular concept is a requirement
for responding quickly to customer demand and leveraging cost benefits.
BMW Group leading manufacturer of electrified vehicles
worldwide
Between January and the end of September, the BMW Group
delivered a total of 68.687 BMW i, BMW iPerformance and
electrified MINI vehicles to customers worldwide – an increase of
64,2%. With nine electrified cars currently available,
the BMW Group is one of the leading suppliers worldwide. The company
plans to sell 100,000 electrified vehicles worldwide by the end of
the year.
The Shenyang production facility
The Shenyang location, with its Dadong and Tiexi automotive
plants and engine plant with light-metal foundry, plays an important
role in the BMW Group’s global production network. It contributes to
the strategy of globally balanced growth, with production capacity
in the respective regional markets.
The BBA production location in Shenyang builds vehicles
exclusively for the Chinese market. The Dadong plant in the
northeast of the city opened in 2003 and currently produces the BMW
5 Series Long-Wheelbase Version. Going forward, this facility will
also build the plug-in hybrid variant of the BMW 5 Series and the
new BMW X3. The Tiexi plant in the west of Shenyang, which went
on-stream in 2012, builds the BMW X1 Long-Wheelbase Version
(including a plug-in hybrid variant), the BMW 1 Series Sedan, the
BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, the BMW 3 Series Long-Wheelbase Version
and the BMW 3 Series Sedan. The engine plant, which opened in 2016,
produces the latest generation of the BMW TwinPower Turbo three and
four-cylinder petrol engines.
The BMW Brilliance Automotive Joint Venture
The BMW Brilliance Automotive joint venture was founded in 2003
and encompasses production and sales of BMW automobiles in China, as
well as local development tasks. The joint venture employs more than
16,000 people, while the BBA supplier network comprises around 350
local suppliers.
In 2014, the BMW Group and Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd.
extended the contract for their Chinese joint venture early – four
years before the current contract expired – and laid the foundation
for deepening the successful cooperation. The extended contract is
valid for ten years (from 2018 to 2028).