Photo: BMW AG
Having started production of its fully electric iX1 at the Regensburg plant, BMW is already looking into the future. Since all its German plants can now produce electric vehicles, the carmaker is setting its eyes on even bigger objectives.
“By 2024, at least one in three BMWs coming out of our Bavarian plants will be an electric car,” says Milan Nedeljkovic, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Production.
With the new iX1 entering production, plant Regensburg is now manufacturing all drive technologies on a single line – for combustion-engine models, plug-in hybrids, and fully electric models.
The plant relies on artificial intelligence for vehicle assembly and painting operations, and was even digitally mapped as part of a recent pilot project, resulting in a “digital twin” to help with future planning of the location structures.
Additionally, the Regensburg plant is “a trailblazer for digitalization” as part of BMW’s iFACTORY strategy, along with its “lean, green, digital” approach. It uses an automated evaluation of process data to monitor installations and machinery, ensuring that technical faults in the production process are detected early and addressed via predictive maintenance, avoiding downtimes.
The new fully electric iX1 is BMW’s smallest SAV (sports activity vehicle), and the car’s high-voltage battery is also produced at the Regensburg plant. That’s because the iFACTORY strategy also aims at shortening the distance for logistics.
“We put our new high-voltage battery assembly line into service in October. Now, we are already supplying the neighboring vehicle plant with high-voltage batteries for the BMW iX1,” says Markus Fallböhmer, head of Battery Production at the BMW Group.
Speaking of battery, it will provide the car with a maximum range of up to 272 miles (438 km) WLTP; 10 minutes of recharging will amount to 75 miles (120 km) of range, and 29 minutes will add up to 80% recharge via high-speed charging stations.
With the new iX1 entering production, plant Regensburg is now manufacturing all drive technologies on a single line – for combustion-engine models, plug-in hybrids, and fully electric models.
The plant relies on artificial intelligence for vehicle assembly and painting operations, and was even digitally mapped as part of a recent pilot project, resulting in a “digital twin” to help with future planning of the location structures.
Additionally, the Regensburg plant is “a trailblazer for digitalization” as part of BMW’s iFACTORY strategy, along with its “lean, green, digital” approach. It uses an automated evaluation of process data to monitor installations and machinery, ensuring that technical faults in the production process are detected early and addressed via predictive maintenance, avoiding downtimes.
The new fully electric iX1 is BMW’s smallest SAV (sports activity vehicle), and the car’s high-voltage battery is also produced at the Regensburg plant. That’s because the iFACTORY strategy also aims at shortening the distance for logistics.
“We put our new high-voltage battery assembly line into service in October. Now, we are already supplying the neighboring vehicle plant with high-voltage batteries for the BMW iX1,” says Markus Fallböhmer, head of Battery Production at the BMW Group.
Speaking of battery, it will provide the car with a maximum range of up to 272 miles (438 km) WLTP; 10 minutes of recharging will amount to 75 miles (120 km) of range, and 29 minutes will add up to 80% recharge via high-speed charging stations.
Google News