BMW is doubling its investments in its Hungary to $ 2.1 billion, adding a high-voltage battery assembly facility that will create more than 500 jobs. Locating the battery assembly at the Debrecen plant will assist BMW in streamlining logistics for the production of its next-generation electric cars that will use the “Neue Klasse” underpinnings. BMW car plant in Debrecen will operate solely from renewable energy, the plant will “completely abandon fossil fuels”, the company’s chief executive, Oliver Zipse, told the BMW Annual General Meeting in Munich on Wednesday.
The plant in Debrecen is central to BMW’s efforts to take on Tesla Inc. which continues to dominate global EV sales. With it’s new EV_ focused platform the BMW aims to cut cell costs by half and increase both range and charging speed by 30% compared to current models.
Construction will start on June 1 and electric BMW cars will roll off the production line 26 months later, he said.
Electricity for manufacturing will be generated on site for the most part, while “100% renewable energy sources” will provide the rest, he added.
Source: XpatLoop
