Wednesday 10th January 2024

BMW signals combustion demise with Munich switch

Iconic factory will close its doors to combustion car production from the end of 2027

---

BMW has announced that it will build the funky Neue Klasse saloon in its Munich facility from 2026; a year after that, the factory will produce nothing but electric vehicles. Having built its first combustion-engined car in 1952 (a 501), BMW’s most famous assembly plant will be EV only from 2027. 

It’s been coming for a little while, of course, even if putting a date on these sorts of things inevitably makes the feeling more urgent. Electrified cars have rolled down the line with pure ICE cars since 2015, when the first 3 Series PHEVs were made; the i4 has been in production at Munich since 2021.

But while electric cars already represent a significant part of the product portfolio (and it’s growing by the month), it’s a huge moment at the beating heart of BMW. It’ll mean huge investment, too, with €650m (£560m) being spent on overhauling the factory for its new future. It’ll be the first location in BMW Group’s range of production facilities to make the transition to purely E-mobility. Many more will surely follow, including a new plant in Debrecen, Hungary.

Munich will be made into a so-called iFACTORY, because nothing associated with EVs can possibly escape a lower-case ‘i’ and too many capital letters. The transformation will continue alongside regular production; around 1,000 cars are completed every single day, so a shutdown wouldn’t be viable. BMW says a key tenet of the iFACTORY approach is a ‘comprehensive digitalisation with a holistic approach to the interaction between people, processes and systems’. Hopefully the reality is as seamless and cohesive as that’s attempting to sound. 

Much as with the money being spent at Oxford for Mini, this new investment secures the future of a historic facility and represents a vote of confidence in the location. They might be quite different BMWs coming out of Munich in the not-too-distant future (ditto the Minis from Oxford), but BMWs will continue to be made there for a long time yet. That’s probably the most important bit of news. 

Milan Nedeljkovi, BMW’s board member for production, said: “The Munich plant is an excellent example of our ability to adapt… Last year alone, six all-electric models went into production. At the same time, we also set a production record, proving that we are simultaneously able to both deliver and shape the future in our production network.” It’ll be business as usual at Munich for the foreseeable, then. It’s just that business will very soon be nothing but electric cars.

---

• BMW i Vision Dee previews Neue Klasse EV
• BMW Vision Neue Klasse heralds new EV era

[jhayward1980]

First

[dunnoreally]

"I prefer cars with engines because they have more range and are easier to refuel. Also I like the noise they make and how they deliver power. What's more I do not find the environmental arguments for electric cars to be convincing"

"Actually range and refueling on EVs are sufficiently easy to suit most use cases, and the environmental arguments are well accepted in the scientific community"

"Most cases are not all cases and choice should remain available. I do not consider scientific acceptance of these arguments to be complete because there are certain details which have not been considered."

"Your ignorance makes me angry."

"You also make me angry. Grrrrr."

There, saved you wading through the next 200 posts or so

[GT9]

Blessed are the cheesemakers.

[Robertb]

dunnoreally said:

"I prefer cars with engines because they have more range and are easier to refuel. Also I like the noise they make and how they deliver power. What's more I do not find the environmental arguments for electric cars to be convincing"

"Actually range and refueling on EVs are sufficiently easy to suit most use cases, and the environmental arguments are well accepted in the scientific community"

"Most cases are not all cases and choice should remain available. I do not consider scientific acceptance of these arguments to be complete because there are certain details which have not been considered."

"Your ignorance makes me angry."

"You also make me angry. Grrrrr."

There, saved you wading through the next 200 posts or so

You missed

"I like to drive for 3000 miles without a break, towing a trailer. Not interested in an EV until I can do that"

[blueacid]

Robertb said:

You missed

"I like to drive for 3000 miles without a break, towing a trailer. Not interested in an EV until I can do that"

And: "What about if it's snowy and the motorway grinds to a halt? Who's going to move all the stricken EVs?!"

[fantheman80]

dunnoreally said:

"I prefer cars with engines because they have more range and are easier to refuel. Also I like the noise they make and how they deliver power. What's more I do not find the environmental arguments for electric cars to be convincing"

"Actually range and refueling on EVs are sufficiently easy to suit most use cases, and the environmental arguments are well accepted in the scientific community"

"Most cases are not all cases and choice should remain available. I do not consider scientific acceptance of these arguments to be complete because there are certain details which have not been considered."

"Your ignorance makes me angry."

"You also make me angry. Grrrrr."

There, saved you wading through the next 200 posts or so

I was thinking the same, PH cant help it but most articles today turn into this

[OddCat]

fantheman80 said:

dunnoreally said:

"I prefer cars with engines because they have more range and are easier to refuel. Also I like the noise they make and how they deliver power. What's more I do not find the environmental arguments for electric cars to be convincing"

"Actually range and refueling on EVs are sufficiently easy to suit most use cases, and the environmental arguments are well accepted in the scientific community"

"Most cases are not all cases and choice should remain available. I do not consider scientific acceptance of these arguments to be complete because there are certain details which have not been considered."

"Your ignorance makes me angry."

"You also make me angry. Grrrrr."

There, saved you wading through the next 200 posts or so

I was thinking the same, PH cant help it but most articles today turn into this

Well, to be fair, this is Pistonheads the prerequisite for which could reasonably be said are some pistons.

Perhaps the EV fanboys on here should actually set up a new thing. Maybe Electricmotorheads ?

[sandysinclair]

I do wonder when the saturation point in the market happens and nobody wants or in fact can afford £50-55k for a basic no options 3 series anymore what happens then ? 3 series BMW's used to be a a vaguely obtainable / aspirational thing for most people even if it was the entry 316i , but if you earn the basic salary say of between £30-35k a year nope not possible ever. Troubled times ahead for all electric car makers I fear.

[rossub]

jhayward1980 said:

First

Nobody cares

[Nomme de Plum]

sandysinclair said:

I do wonder when the saturation point in the market happens and nobody wants or in fact can afford £50-55k for a basic no options 3 series anymore what happens then ? 3 series BMW's used to be a a vaguely obtainable / aspirational thing for most people even if it was the entry 316i , but if you earn the basic salary say of between £30-35k a year nope not possible ever. Troubled times ahead for all electric car makers I fear.

Tesla and BYD seem to be doing just fine.

A new ICE 3 series lists at about £40K without options.

Not everyone wants a BMW.

There's plenty of time with BEV mandated at 22% this year and 28% next. In 2035 there will still only be about 15M BEVs (less than 50%)

[Wab1974uk]

So, is that the total end of BMW ICE cars then? Or just from that factory?

If total demise, then it look like the 2035 date doesn't matter.

[Nomme de Plum]

Wab1974uk said:

So, is that the total end of BMW ICE cars then? Or just from that factory?

If total demise, then it look like the 2035 date doesn't matter.

From the article

"It’ll be the first location in BMW Group’s range of production facilities to make the transition to purely E-mobility. Many more will surely follow, including a new plant in Debrecen, Hungary."

[fantheman80]

OddCat said:

fantheman80 said:

dunnoreally said:

"I prefer cars with engines because they have more range and are easier to refuel. Also I like the noise they make and how they deliver power. What's more I do not find the environmental arguments for electric cars to be convincing"

"Actually range and refueling on EVs are sufficiently easy to suit most use cases, and the environmental arguments are well accepted in the scientific community"

"Most cases are not all cases and choice should remain available. I do not consider scientific acceptance of these arguments to be complete because there are certain details which have not been considered."

"Your ignorance makes me angry."

"You also make me angry. Grrrrr."

There, saved you wading through the next 200 posts or so

I was thinking the same, PH cant help it but most articles today turn into this

Well, to be fair, this is Pistonheads the prerequisite for which could reasonably be said are some pistons.

Perhaps the EV fanboys on here should actually set up a new thing. Maybe Electricmotorheads ?

Oh don't get me wrong, I will try all 30 million ICE cars in the UK before going leccy, but its sad that most articles on here go the same way, even those that don't mention the milk floats, and by the looks of it others are getting tired if it to.

[RDMcG]

Well, the "ultimate driving machine" is heading for history.

I had a few BMW M cars in the past and my last was the E63 M6 in 2006, brilliant engine and horrible transmission. I had one of the peak ( in my view) cars, an E39 M5 which was a wonderful car.

The combination of increasingly eccentric styling and the EV direction leaves me out of play.

[Crafty_]

sandysinclair said:

I do wonder when the saturation point in the market happens and nobody wants or in fact can afford £50-55k for a basic no options 3 series anymore what happens then ? 3 series BMW's used to be a a vaguely obtainable / aspirational thing for most people even if it was the entry 316i , but if you earn the basic salary say of between £30-35k a year nope not possible ever. Troubled times ahead for all electric car makers I fear.

In case you haven't noticed, for the last 15 (20?) years there's been a shift to lease or PCP "ownership".
So the aspiration isn't 50k in to a car, its £300 a month. Granted, you'll be back at the dealer signing a deal for another one in 2/3 years, because you have spent 10 grand + deposit renting the last one and can't afford to buy anything regardless of brand. Manufacturer keeps factories busy and the bean counters like it, so everyone's happy.

I don't think the aspirational want is really a thing any more, if it is you need to be in supercar territory. All manufacturers are mass producers and I don't think there's an awful lot between them any more. Shared components & platforms are rife and will only increase imho, choice between vehicles will be partly financial (ooh this one is £30 cheaper a month..) and subjective (colour / asthetic preference.

[Wadeski]

I just dont get this.

I live in the USA, the second largest car market on earth.

Apart from Teslas, EV sales are way below expectations. Ford, GM, BMW etc have all invested billions and the things dont sell.

You have zero political will to install charging infrastructure - even in NYC public charging stations are incredibly rare.

We are most likely looking at a second Trump government next so expect ZERO coercion against ICE cars & trucks.

Surely supply & demand has to come in to play? With no push and hardly any pull, how will everyone go EV in a few short years?

[smiffy77]

Crafty_ said:

sandysinclair said:

I do wonder when the saturation point in the market happens and nobody wants or in fact can afford £50-55k for a basic no options 3 series anymore what happens then ? 3 series BMW's used to be a a vaguely obtainable / aspirational thing for most people even if it was the entry 316i , but if you earn the basic salary say of between £30-35k a year nope not possible ever. Troubled times ahead for all electric car makers I fear.

In case you haven't noticed, for the last 15 (20?) years there's been a shift to lease or PCP "ownership".
So the aspiration isn't 50k in to a car, its £300 a month. Granted, you'll be back at the dealer signing a deal for another one in 2/3 years, because you have spent 10 grand + deposit renting the last one and can't afford to buy anything regardless of brand. Manufacturer keeps factories busy and the bean counters like it, so everyone's happy.

I don't think the aspirational want is really a thing any more, if it is you need to be in supercar territory. All manufacturers are mass producers and I don't think there's an awful lot between them any more. Shared components & platforms are rife and will only increase imho, choice between vehicles will be partly financial (ooh this one is £30 cheaper a month..) and subjective (colour / asthetic preference.

What I don’t understand is how the manufacturers can offer pcp/lease deals on older cars, do they offer packages on 6 year old cars for example? It seams to me there are more new/nearly new cars on the road than ever and that is just not sustainable or environmentally sound, we can’t all change for a new car every three years can we?

[Crafty_]

smiffy77 said:

What I don’t understand is how the manufacturers can offer pcp/lease deals on older cars, do they offer packages on 6 year old cars for example? It seams to me there are more new/nearly new cars on the road than ever and that is just not sustainable or environmentally sound, we can’t all change for a new car every three years can we?

I agree its poor for sustainability, just like the inevitable scrappage scheme for your ICE car to get you in an EV.

Provides an easy route to those on lower incomes to join the brand, maybe next time (or in a few cycles) they'll be in a position to go for a new vehicle.

Meantime, they're making a packet on the finance for a vehicle still being sold at 5 years for more than it cost them to build.

Long term I suspect cars will be done at say 8 or so years old, maybe less. If we believe the EV proponents 100% will be recycled in to a new vehicle.

That is, assuming that int he long term car ownership will actually still be a thing. Lots of transit systems being suggested where that isn't the case.

[Boomroasted]

The sandal wearing vegans will be pleased!

[JAMSXR]

smiffy77 said:

What I don’t understand is how the manufacturers can offer pcp/lease deals on older cars, do they offer packages on 6 year old cars for example? It seams to me there are more new/nearly new cars on the road than ever and that is just not sustainable or environmentally sound, we can’t all change for a new car every three years can we?

They hit used market. Thousands of people have moved to EVs over the last few years, those leases have come to and end and there’s a surplus of used cars.