E-automobility
BMW starts series production of the “Tesla Fighter” i4
The i4 model has already been presented at the Barcelona auto show. Photo: David Zorrakino / EUROPA PRESS / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The conversion of production to the construction of e-cars is in full swing at the Munich carmaker. Now the first series copies of the i4 model are ready.
Three months after the electric SUV BMW iX, the carmaker has also started series production of the fully electric BMW i4. The first vehicle rolled off the assembly line at the main plant in Munich on Friday.
“The start-up of the BMW i4 is a milestone for this plant and its team on the way to e-mobility,” said Production Board Member Milan Nedeljković. “As of 2023, more than half of all vehicles from Munich will have an electrified drive. The majority of it will be fully electric. “
So far, around 7,000 employees in Munich have built around 1,000 3 and 4-series cars as well as 2,000 gasoline and diesel engines every day. But at the end of the year production of the four-cylinder engines was relocated to Hams-Hall in England and Steyr in Austria. The relocation of the Munich engine manufacturing facility is expected to be completed in 2024.
Petrol, diesel, hybrid – everything runs in parallel
With a “Tesla Fighter”, automakers want to compete with the industry pioneer Tesla in the market for electric cars. Tesla’s Model 3 and the BMW i4 are targeting the same buyer groups. BMW sold 390 184 cars of the 3 and 4 series in the first nine months of the year. Competitor Tesla sold 614 358 Model 3 e-cars and the Model Y derived from them in the same period.
The fully electric i4 is rolling off the same line in Munich as the 3 and 4 series with gasoline, diesel and hybrid drives. “We managed to integrate the vehicle into our existing production system while production was still ongoing,” said Plant Manager Peter Weber. The renovation cost 200 million euros.
New plant in Hungary
The Gran Coupé i4 differs from the 3 and 4 series primarily in terms of its electric drive and battery. In the body shop, 90 percent of the existing production facilities are also used for the i4.
The i4 is a pioneer for the next generation of vehicles, the “New Class”, which is “uncompromisingly geared towards electric drives”, it said. The construction of these vehicles with a new platform, new batteries and new software is to start in the planned BMW plant in Hungary in 2025 and then be rolled out to all plants and model classes. In 2030, BMW plans to sell around three million cars, half of them fully electric.