The BMW Group is investing around €2 billion in vehicle production and battery manufacturing to underscore Germany’s importance as a production hub. The company is ensuring that its plants are ready for the next generation of the BMW 3 Series.
The 3 Series has been the heart of the BMW brand for over 50 years. Since production began in 1975, BMW has completed about 18 million vehicles, including 15 million made in Germany. This makes the BMW 3 Series the world’s most successful premium mid-size automobile.
BMW has spent about €1 billion on further development of the Munich and Dingolfing vehicle plants. The company has further invested around €1 billion in the new Irlbach‑Straßkirchen battery plant in Lower Bavaria.
“We are investing in value creation, competitive production and job security in Germany. The new BMW 3 Series is the proof,” said Raymond Wittmann, Member of the Board of Management of BMW Group, Production. “We are in control of the transformation, from development to industrialization and high-efficiency production in Munich and Dingolfing.”
“The new high-voltage battery plant in Irlbach-Straßkirchen illustrates how we are bringing key electromobility technology back to our home base. We are making our contribution. Conditions that enable investment, innovation, and competitiveness are essential if industrial value creation is to enjoy continued success in Germany,” he added.
i3 in Munich, ICE 3 Series in Dingolfing
The all-electric BMW i3 is being constructed at the extensively renovated BMW Group parent plant in Munich, using sixth-generation high-voltage batteries delivered by the new BMW Group Plant Irlbach-Straßkirchen. The BMW 3 Series variants with combustion engine and plug-in hybrid drive are being produced at the BMW Group Plant Dingolfing.
“Both locations boast state-of-the-art production systems and structures, ensuring that the BMW Group remains competitive when producing premium automobiles that are in demand around the world,” says BMW.
“Staying true to the ‘local for local’ principle, these standards and guidelines will also be applied to the production of the BMW i3 and the BMW 3 at the BMW Group Plant San Luis Potosí in Mexico, and to a modified version of the BMW 3 Series for the Chinese market in Shenyang, China.”
The BMW 3 Series represents the next step in gradually introducing Neue Klasse technologies into the BMW Group’s core portfolio. By the end of 2027, the company will have put around 40 new or revised models with Neue Klasse technologies on the road.
“The BMW 3 Series is far more than simply a vehicle. It represents the power of innovation, the performance of modern production, the successful transformation of existing plants, and the BMW Group’s unequivocal commitment to Germany as an industrial home base,” BMW proudly boasts.
Commitment to Germany and Bavaria
Germany is the heart of BMW Group production. The company produces more than one million vehicles in its German plants each year. This means that the BMW Group makes around a quarter of the cars produced in the country. The company’s domestic production volume exceeds the BMW Group’s total vehicle sales in Europe.
At the same time, Germany is the center of a tightly integrated industrial value creation network. Around 55% of BMW Group employees work in Germany. In addition, thousands of partner companies operate along the value chain.
The BMW Group is underlining its commitment to regional value creation with the new BMW 3 Series. As production ramps up, around 760 supplier locations are supplying the Munich and Dingolfing plants with components and materials. More than 70% of these production locations are in Europe, with more than 30% in Germany.
Preparations for the eighth generation of the 3 Series included specific differences between the two plant locations. In Munich, the BMW Group made significant investments in new buildings and production facilities for Neue Klasse technologies and i3 production.
With high flexibility and a range of models, Plant Dingolfing produces combustion-engine and plug-in hybrid versions of the new BMW 3 Series for customers worldwide.
The BMW Group Plant Irlbach-Straßkirchen is another key component for the next generation of the BMW 3 Series and the Neue Klasse. The plant will assemble sixth-generation high-voltage batteries there, and from October onward, it will supply the Munich plant with battery systems for the all-electric BMW i3.
