Photo: BMW
BMW is working hard to build an EV future, and the upcoming Neue Klasse is crucial to the plan. The new EV architecture will underpin medium-size vehicles, with the first arriving in 2025 from the BMW factory in Hungary. BMW will also produce the upcoming EVs in China at the BMW Brilliance Automotive factory in Shenyang from 2026.
Neue Klasse (New Class) cars, produced between 1962 and 1972, helped BMW recover after difficult times and put it on track for the successful years ahead. For this, it will always have a special place in the hearts and minds of people in Munich. It's no wonder that BMW's upcoming EVs, which will continue the brand's success in modern times, are also developed under the Neue Klasse code name. The forthcoming electric Bimmers will be built on a new, EV-dedicated platform. The first units will roll off the production line of the BMW factory in Debrecen, Hungary, starting in 2025.
BMW projects that half the cars it produces in 2030 will have to be electric, so it's expanding Neue Klasse production facilities across the globe. BMW San Luis Potosí Plant in Mexico will enter an overhaul process to produce the Neue Klasse in 2027. Even before that, BMW will also make the Neue Klasse in China in its Shenyang factory it jointly operates with Brilliance. BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) will start production of the new generation of EVs in 2026. The announcement marks the 20th anniversary of the BBA joint venture.
BMW will invest 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) to modernize the factory, including a new production facility for Li-Ion batteries. The battery plant will produce cells for BMW's six-generation battery packs in 2026, in time for the Neue Klasse production. In addition to Shenyang, new assembly sites for the sixth-generation high-voltage batteries will be added in Debrecen (Hungary), San Luis Potosí (Mexico), and Woodruff near Spartanburg (USA) in the next few years. It's fair to assume that Spartanburg will also produce the Neue Klasse EVs.
The new generation of electric vehicles will abandon the prismatic cells used in today's BMW electrified cars and switch to cylindrical cells instead. Much like Tesla, BMW eyes a bigger cell format, only instead of 4680 cells, it will use 46120. This means that BMW cells have the same diameter (46 mm/1.8 in) but are taller at 120 mm (4.72 in) instead of 80 mm (3.15 in). For battery packs with a lower energy capacity, BMW might also use smaller 4695 cells, which are 95 mm (3.74 in) tall.
BMW also intends to expand its research and development center in Shenyang, where the German carmaker develops technologies for electromobility and localizes its products. The site provides 19 test benches for low and high-voltage testing, pedestrian safety testing, improved electronic analyses, and charging capacity tests at extreme temperatures.
BMW projects that half the cars it produces in 2030 will have to be electric, so it's expanding Neue Klasse production facilities across the globe. BMW San Luis Potosí Plant in Mexico will enter an overhaul process to produce the Neue Klasse in 2027. Even before that, BMW will also make the Neue Klasse in China in its Shenyang factory it jointly operates with Brilliance. BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) will start production of the new generation of EVs in 2026. The announcement marks the 20th anniversary of the BBA joint venture.
BMW will invest 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) to modernize the factory, including a new production facility for Li-Ion batteries. The battery plant will produce cells for BMW's six-generation battery packs in 2026, in time for the Neue Klasse production. In addition to Shenyang, new assembly sites for the sixth-generation high-voltage batteries will be added in Debrecen (Hungary), San Luis Potosí (Mexico), and Woodruff near Spartanburg (USA) in the next few years. It's fair to assume that Spartanburg will also produce the Neue Klasse EVs.
The new generation of electric vehicles will abandon the prismatic cells used in today's BMW electrified cars and switch to cylindrical cells instead. Much like Tesla, BMW eyes a bigger cell format, only instead of 4680 cells, it will use 46120. This means that BMW cells have the same diameter (46 mm/1.8 in) but are taller at 120 mm (4.72 in) instead of 80 mm (3.15 in). For battery packs with a lower energy capacity, BMW might also use smaller 4695 cells, which are 95 mm (3.74 in) tall.
BMW also intends to expand its research and development center in Shenyang, where the German carmaker develops technologies for electromobility and localizes its products. The site provides 19 test benches for low and high-voltage testing, pedestrian safety testing, improved electronic analyses, and charging capacity tests at extreme temperatures.
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