BMW Group signed an agreement for a new battery production project to greatly expand the power battery production capacity at its manufacturing base in Shenyang city, capital of China’s Liaoning province.
Under the agreement, BMW Group’s China joint venture, BMW Brilliance Automotive (“BBA”), will invest in roughly 10 billion yuan ($1.407 billion) in the new battery project, so as to meet Chinese consumers’ ever-growing demands for BMW’s all-electric vehicles.
“The new battery project is a good example of the BMW iFACTORY strategy, setting high standards for production that is LEAN, GREEN, and DIGITAL. It also represents a crucial step for BMW’s faster electrification boost in China,” commented Dr. Franz Decker, president and CEO of BBA.
In 2017, BBA opened its “High Voltage Battery Center” located at its Tiexi Powertrain Plant in Shenyang, which is BMW Group’s first battery center outside of Germany incorporating battery R&D, production, and testing in one location, and also made BMW the first luxury car brand to set up a power battery center in China. BBA’s HVB Center is dedicated to developing HVB technologies for use in premium new energy vehicles (NEVs) that are tailored for the Chinese market.
In 2022, BBA began production at the second phase of the HVB center, whose power batteries are installed onto the BMW iX3 and the BMW i3.