A few 12 months in the past, I visited BMW’s Group Plant Munich to get a preview of the German automaker’s bold plans for solid-state batteries, the idea automobile behind the Neue Klasse electrical reboot and even color-changing automobiles. The Munich plant dates again to 1922. It has develop into a sprawling, high-tech facility that employs practically 8,000 folks from 50 totally different nations, is related to its personal museum, and is an important a part of BMW’s firm historical past.
And that plant simply made its last-ever inside combustion engine.
BMW confirmed to InsideEVs that the corporate has now ended manufacturing of its V8 engine on the Munich plant, information first reported by Electrive and BMW Weblog. This brings an finish to any inside combustion motor manufacturing on the firm’s headquarters, and arguably its international beating coronary heart. Granted, the plant nonetheless makes some automobiles that get ICE motors, however making precise gasoline engines there’s a factor of the previous.
43 Pictures
Granted, BMW’s not carried out making conventional engines in every single place; it nonetheless makes a variety of gasoline motors, diesel engines and hybrid powertrains elsewhere. However the symbolism right here feels fairly highly effective. “No extra engines are being constructed on the Munich plant, however we produce ICE engines at different crops in Austria and the UK,” a BMW spokesperson informed me. “This brings a run of 60 years of engines being in-built Munich to an finish.”
To me, it says so much about the place BMW – and the world – goes subsequent. And it is not towards extra inside combustion engines. On the Munich plant, BMW presently makes the prolonged four-door 3 Collection and 4 Collection household, an enormous lineup of automobiles that encompasses the M3, 3 Collection Touring, 3 Collection Sedan and extra. Alongside these automobiles, it additionally makes the all-electric BMW i4, considered one of my favourite EVs presently in the marketplace and one thing with a degree of efficiency that deserves that M badge. (Different EVs just like the iX, i7 and i5 are constructed at BMW’s Dingolfing plant.)
BMW can also be notable for being an automaker that is taking a “combined” strategy to future powertrains, not not like Toyota on a barely smaller scale. It isn’t taking inside combustion completely off the desk like some rivals, it is obtained a great lineup of hybrids and it is even holding its energy dry on the hydrogen entrance. However all of that should not cover the truth that BMW’s truly performing some attention-grabbing issues on the all-electric entrance, too. The brand new Neue Klasse platform automobiles must be glorious, it is obtained extra EVs coming within the meantime, and even Mini and Rolls-Royce have way more electrification in thoughts. And what’s extra, BMW has truly seen a variety of gross sales success with its EVs this 12 months when many rivals have struggled with uneven demand. BMW stated that round 20% of U.S. gross sales are actually BEVs and PHEVs.
It is commendable progress for a model that had to determine what it means to make the Final Driving Machine when you do not have high-revving inline-six engines and handbook transmissions to fall again on. But when even BMW’s historic house can see an finish to the ICE period, I feel that speaks volumes.
Contact the writer: [email protected]