+++ Site Manager Christoph Peters: “BMW Group’s Wackersdorf location to become a major facilitator for the shift to electromobility” +++ Building as symbol of Wackersdorf site’s electric future +++
Wackersdorf. To demonstrate its strong commitment to the Wackersdorf location in Upper Palatinate and as part of its ongoing e-mobility expansion, BMW Group is investing approximately 100 million euros by 2026 in a new battery testing centre at the existing site. By mid-2024, the first high-voltage batteries for BMW Group models will begin regular operation at the centre for early-stage development testing, before production even starts.
“The BMW Group’s Wackersdorf location will be a major facilitator for the shift towards electromobility,” said Site Manager Christoph Peters, who also mentioned that the new battery testing centre will further strengthen the foundation of the BMW Group site in Wackersdorf. He added, “In addition to supplying our overseas plants, cockpit production, and door production for Rolls-Royce models starting in 2024, this will be Wackersdorf’s fourth main area of activity. This enhances the future sustainability of our site.”
The investment will primarily focus on advanced test bench technology and necessary upgrades to the building infrastructure. Hall 80, currently under renovation, will house the testing centre. Originally built in the 1980s for a reprocessing facility, the building will now signify the plant’s electric future.
The construction work is already in progress, including the installation of a new floor slab. The first section of the centre, featuring “battery testers” that resemble large refrigerators externally but are equipped with cutting-edge technology inside, will be operational by mid-2024. These testers will evaluate battery cells’ electrical performance during charging and discharging under various conditions. This enables simulation of usage scenarios before the vehicles are even on the road. Initially, parallel testing of several hundred battery cells will be possible, with the testing capacity eventually reaching several thousand.
Starting from 2025, the testing centre will also be responsible for validating BMW Group’s battery-electric vehicles prior to their official launch and ensuring premium quality. This includes subjecting batteries to vibration and shock tests using specialized equipment known as “shakers.” Additionally, endurance tests can simulate complex driving patterns and charging/discharging cycles. Such tests are crucial for electric vehicle type approvals, and the BMW Group is establishing its own capacity with the new battery testing centre in Wackersdorf due to limited availability in the market.
If you have any questions, please contact:
BMW Group Corporate Communications
Dominik Hämmerl, Communications Wackersdorf
Cell phone: +49 151 6060 3889, Email: Dominik.Haemmerl@bmw.de
Saskia Graser, acting head of Communications Regensburg and Wackersdorf
Cell phone: +49 151 6040 3232, Email: Saskia.Graser@bmw.de
Media website: www.press.bmwgroup.com
Email: presse@bmw.de
BMW Group Plants Regensburg and Wackersdorf
For decades, the BMW Group has been considered a leader in production technology and operational excellence in vehicle manufacturing, including at its Regensburg and Wackersdorf locations.
The BMW Group vehicle plant in Regensburg has been operational since 1986 and is one of over 30 BMW Group production facilities worldwide. Each workday, up to 1,000 BMW 1 Series, BMW X1, and BMW X2 models are produced at the Regensburg plant and delivered to customers globally. The facility can flexibly manufacture different types of drive trains on a single production line, including internal combustion engines, plug-in hybrids, and fully electric models.
In the vicinity of the vehicle plant, high-voltage batteries for electric models are produced at the electric component production facility, which opened at Leibnizstrasse in 2021.
Regensburg’s BMW Innovation Park also includes Wackersdorf. Originally built as a nuclear reprocessing facility, the 55-hectare campus now houses cockpit production and parts supply for overseas plants. In addition to being the largest employer, Innovation Park Wackersdorf accommodates several other companies, employing approximately 2,500 people.
The Regensburg and Wackersdorf locations in eastern Bavaria collectively employ approximately 9,000 people, including more than 300 apprentices.
www.bmwgroup-werke.com/regensburg/de.html