BMW to add high-voltage batteries logistics centre at Plant Leipzig

BMW Group's Plant Leipzig located in the German state of Saxony is the pioneering facility for electromobility, which began assembling BMW i3 electric cars since 2014. The company is now investing further on e-component production at the facility, with the construction of a logistics hall for the current fifth-generation high-voltage batteries due to reach completion in mid-2024.

There are also plans for a second construction stage at the newly acquired plot near the Leipzig facility, which will take the total investment to as much as 100 million euros, BMW claims. With the launch of new Mini Countryman EV right around the corner, the company is expanding the facility to meet the emerging requirements in EV manufacturing. 

Moreover, the BMW Group aims for at least one in three new cars sold to be fully electric by 2026, so the need for high-voltage batteries will increase. Plant Leipzig is already a leading source in supplying e-components, providing one in three battery modules for the BMW Group's fully electric vehicles globally including BMW iX1, the BMW i5 and the BMW iX.

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With the new hall as a logistics centre for high-voltage batteries, the facility is embracing this role even further, with a building that meets all the structural requirements for handling high-voltage components, according to the automaker. 

Plant Director Petra Peterhänsel considers the transition to electromobility as an important building block in the plant's development. "Leipzig continues to power ahead. Making the BMW i3, we were the BMW Group's pioneer in electromobility. Now, with the development of e-component production and the upcoming launch of the MINI Countryman, the future is already taking shape", he said. 

From next year, BMW Plant Leipzig will run all three stages of the high-voltage battery production process, namely - cell coating, module production and high-voltage battery assembly. E-component production capacity has been steadily increasing since 2021, and at present battery cells are coated and assembled into modules there, claims BMW.