MUNICH: BMW has teamed up with its Chinese joint venture partner to set up a Li-ion battery plant in Shenyang, China.

The plant, catering to only the Chinese market, will supply the nearby Dadong plant, which is operated by the BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) joint venture and will produce the 5 Series Plug-in Hybrid for the local market.

It is the first BMW battery plant in China after similar ones in Germany and the United States. The company already produces electrified vehicles at ten locations worldwide.



“By 2025, we expect our electrified BMW and MINI models to account for between 15 and 25 per cent of global sales," said BMW AG board member for production Oliver Zipse.

"This adds up to several hundred thousand vehicles per year. It therefore makes sense for us to integrate electro-mobility into the existing production system. Doing so will enable the BMW Group to respond flexibly to demand for electrified models."

Production of high-voltage batteries is divided into two production stages. First, in a highly-automated process, supplied lithium-ion cells, which are about the size of a paperback book, are checked and then combined into a larger unit, the so-called battery module.



The battery modules are then mounted together with the connections, control units and cooling units in an aluminium housing. The size and shape of the aluminium housing, as well as the number of battery modules used, depends on the vehicle variant. In this way, a "battery pack" or high-voltage battery is created.

This combination of standardised battery modules and housings flexibly adapted to the vehicle has several advantages: It ensures uniform properties and quality standards in the production of high-voltage batteries. The modular design of the high-voltage batteries also forms the basis for a wide variety of electric drive variants. Last but not least, this modular concept is a requirement for responding quickly to customer demand and leveraging cost benefits.



At present, the Dadong plant produces the 5 Series Long-Wheelbase Version and soon the plug-in hybrid variants of the 5 Series and the X3. Another plant in China makes the X1 Long-Wheelbase Version (including a plug-in hybrid variant), the 1 Series Sedan, the 2 Series Active Tourer, the 3 Series Long-Wheelbase Version and the 3 Series Sedan. A separate engine plant produces the latest generation of the BMW TwinPower Turbo three and four-cylinder petrol engines.

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