BMW has begun series production of electric motors for its upcoming Neue Klasse vehicle platform at its Plant Steyr facility in Austria. The facility will manufacture the sixth generation of BMW’s eDrive electric motor system, marking the first time the Austrian plant has produced fully electric drive trains.
“Today, we are laying the foundations for the future of the BMW Group,” said Milan Nedeljković, BMW AG board member responsible for production. “As the first production site for the Gen6 electric engine, Plant Steyr is central to the Neue Klasse and the continued development of our global production network.”
The Steyr facility will produce electric motors that will be shipped throughout BMW’s production network to power vehicles in the Neue Klasse lineup. Klaus von Moltke, senior vice president of engine production for BMW AG and plant director at Steyr, said the milestone represented more than a production ramp-up. “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,” von Moltke said.
BMW is investing over one billion euros between 2022 and 2030 to expand development and production capabilities for electric drives at the Steyr location. The plant, which has manufactured internal combustion engines for BMW and MINI brands for over 40 years, will continue producing diesel and petrol engines alongside the new electric motors.
Around 1,000 employees will work in the new electric motor assembly operations. Depending on global demand, half of the Steyr facility’s workforce could be involved in electric mobility production by 2030. The plant will manufacture core components including rotors, stators, transmissions and inverters for the integrated electric drive systems.
Housing for the electric motors will be cast at BMW’s aluminum foundry in Landshut, Germany, and processed in Steyr. The facility has established a new clean-room environment for inverter production, marking its entry into electrical engineering manufacturing.
The Gen6 electric motor system features an 800-volt architecture and uses silicon carbide semiconductor technology to improve efficiency. BMW says the new system reduces energy loss by 40 percent, costs by 20 percent and weight by 10 percent compared to previous generation systems.
Martin Kaufmann, senior vice president of global powertrain development at BMW AG, said these improvements contribute to approximately 20 percent greater overall vehicle efficiency. The first Neue Klasse model, the BMW iX3 50 xDrive, is expected to achieve a range of up to 800 kilometers using the new electric drive system combined with a high-voltage battery.
