BMW plans 160-hectare battery factory in Bavaria

At the Bavarian car manufacturer BMW, the move toward building the electric car product line is progressing steadily. A massive battery factory for the e-cars is now to be built on a 160-hectare site in Lower Bavaria.

BMW: 160-hectare battery factory likely to be built in Irlbach, Lower Bavaria

BMW is pushing ahead with the electric car future within its own group. A new battery factory is to be built in Bavaria to supply the automotive plants in Munich, Dingolfing and Regensburg. And it will be built on a site covering 160 hectares – the battery factory would thus be around four times the size of the BMW logistics warehouse in Wallersdorf in Lower Bavaria.

According to a report in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the contract for the new plant is likely to be awarded to Irlbach, a community with 1,200 inhabitants that is only about twelve kilometers from the logistics warehouse and would therefore make a very good choice from a logistics point of view. However, nothing has been decided yet. “We are in the race,” says Irlbach’s mayor Armin Soller.

Of course, the territorial proximity to the other BMW plants also plays a decisive role. According to a BMW spokesman, a good logistical connection to the nearby plants is decisive for the selection of the right property.

Here, too, Irlbach appears to be a logical choice, as both Regensburg and Dingolfing – where in addition to the new BMW 7 Series, the i7 electric sedan is also being built – are in the immediate vicinity and can be reached via the highway in 30 to 45 minutes.

• More: BMW iX xDrive50 awarded as E-SUV with the highest range

Batteries for the New Class

The batteries are expected to be used in BMW’s electric “New Class,” which is nearing finalization in leaps and bounds and is expected to hit the market in two years. At CES 2023, BMW already revealed the first details of the electric mid-size car in the same breath as the newly unveiled iVision Dee concept car.

The batteries will apparently not be manufactured at the new 160-hectare plant, but rather assembled and finally installed. The batteries will be sourced from external suppliers. BMW’s new battery factory is scheduled to start operations as early as 2026. Construction work is expected to begin in early 2024.