Last Friday, BMW Group officially started the series production of its sixth-generation (Gen6) electric motors at the Steyr plant in Austria. These will power the upcoming Neue Klasse models, including the next-generation iX3. Built on the new architecture, the iX3 50 xDrive is the inaugural model to utilize this platform, which is designed exclusively for electric vehicles.
It marks the first time that fully electric drive units are being manufactured at this facility, which has traditionally produced internal combustion engines for BMW and MINI. BMW is investing over €1 billion in the Steyr plant to develop and enhance its capabilities in electric drive production.
E-drive, rotor, stator, transmission, and inverter
All core components of the e-drive, rotor, stator, transmission, and inverter, are manufactured at Plant Steyr. The housing for the electric engine is cast at BMW’s Plant Landshut’s aluminium foundry and further processed in Steyr.
BMW emphasizes that the plant in Steyr uses a modular system, making it possible to produce different highly flexible electric drive train derivatives for the entire range of Neue Klasse models. Approximately 1,000 employees are currently involved in the electric motor assembly at Steyr. Depending on global demand, up to half of the plant’s total workforce could be engaged in e-mobility by 2030.
Range of up to 800 km
The Gen6 electric motors feature an 800-volt architecture, offering improved efficiency and performance. The rotor, stator, and inverter have all been holistically designed for the Gen6 technology’s 800-volt architecture, maximising performance capabilities and the efficiency of the drive system.
In the inverter, 800-volt technology and silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor technology are now being used to boost efficiency. For instance, the upcoming iX3 50 xDrive model is expected to achieve a range of up to 800 km (WLTP) due to the enhanced powertrain.
“Energy loss is reduced by 40 percent, costs by 20 percent, and weight by 10 percent. All this makes a significant contribution to the approximately 20-percent increase in overall vehicle efficiency”, explains Martin Kaufmann, SVP of global Powertrain Development at BMW AG.
40 years of diesel and gasoline engines
For over 40 years, BMW has built diesel and gasoline engines at the BMW Group Plant Steyr in Austria, where 4,500 people work in production and development. BMW says its Austrian plant ships over a million engines and 10 million core engine components every year – powering about half of all BMWs and MINIs worldwide.
The plant will manufacture over 600,000 e-drives a year alongside diesel and gasoline units. Production of these will also remain high, with combustion engines forming an essential part of Steyr’s product portfolio well into the future.
“Steyr will remain the heart of our drive train expertise – both for combustion engines and electromobility,” said Klaus von Moltke, SVP of Engine Production for BMW AG and plant director of the Steyr facility. “What we are launching here today is more than just a production ramp-up. It is a firm commitment to Europe, to technology, and to the future.”
