Magnetics Business & Technology - January/February 2022 - 6

FEATURE ARTICLE
BMW Spending €790 Million to Expand E-Drive Production Operations
to two highly integrated e-drives, which combine the electric motor,
power electronics and transmission in a single housing.
As BMW Group continues to increase production capacity for its
new electric motors and integrated drive systems at its Competence
Centre for E-Drive Production at Dingolfing northeast of
Munich, it is also ramping up capacity for e-drive production at
additional locations. The company recently released more details
about its massive electromobility buildup, much of which is
centered around its in-house designed and manufactured highly
integrated motor and powertrain.
" We expect at
least 50 percent
of the vehicles we
deliver to our customers
worldwide
to be electrified by
2030. To achieve
this, we are relying
on our extensive
in-house drive
train expertise:
We are increasing
capacity at existing
drive train production locations in Dingolfing and developing
capabilities at others like recently in Regensburg and Leipzig, "
explained Dr Michael Nikolaides, senior vice president, Production
Engines and E-Drives, BMW Group.
The company produces electric motors at Dingolfing, shown in
the accompanying photos, and at another plant in Landshut. Its
plant at Steyr builds the housing for the highly integrated fifthgeneration
e-drive. In line with the growing demand, production
is also being stepped up there.
BMW is investing more than €500 million to expand production
capacity for e-drives at its Dingolfing location alone between
2020 and 2022. From 2022, it will produce e-drives for more than
half a million electrified vehicles. The company plans to invest a
total of around €790 million to expand capacity for electric powertrain
components at its Dingolfing, Leipzig, Regensburg and
Steyr locations between 2020 and 2022.
The output and energy content of drive units and high-voltage
batteries with the company's latest eDrive technology can be
flexibly scaled to different model variants. Each vehicle uses up
6 Magnetics Business & Technology * January/February 2022
The motor has
been built in
Dingolfing for the
BMW iX3 since
2020. While it
relies on magnetic
materials
and technology,
it is based on the
design principle of
a current-excited
rotor so does not
require any materials
classified as
rare-earth metals.
The powertrain
is comprised of a
drive unit in which
electric motor,
system electronics
and transmission
are brought together into a central housing. As a result, the
required installation space of the drive technology and its weight
are considerably reduced. The ratio between motor output and
weight of the drive system improves around 30 percent compared
to the previous generation.
Following extensive expansion, the
Competence Centre for E-Drive
Production now provides a usable
area of 125,000 sq. m. This is where
the company manufactures electric
motors and the components needed
for them, as well as high-voltage
batteries and battery modules. The
first production lines for electric
motors and high-voltage batteries
for plug-in hybrids went on-stream
there in 2014 and the centre has
been steadily growing ever since
with highly automated and flexible
production lines.
Between now and 2025, BMW plans to increase sales of fully
electric models by an average of well over 50 percent per year,
more than ten times the number of units sold in 2020. In total,
over the next ten years or so, BMW expects to be releasing
about ten million fully electric vehicles onto the roads.
Amidst the efforts, big changes in leadership will soon take place
at several of the group's major plants as its production locations
in Munich, Oxford and Spartanburg will have new plant directors
beginning in September, in some cases also spreading around
its e-mobility manufacturing expertise.
" All three are proven experts with extensive process know-how,
years of experience and, not least, excellent leadership qualities.
I am certain these colleagues will rigorously implement our key
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Magnetics Business & Technology - January/February 2022

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