Start of production of the all-electric BMW i5
Various old generations of 5 Series BMWs can be seen at the start of production of the all-electric BMW i5 in the factory.
(Photo: dpa)
BMW has officially started production of its new 5 Series in Dingolfing, including the new i5 electric model. This is the third all-electric BMW that production has started at the plant in Lower Bavaria in the past two years, the Munich-based automaker announced on Friday.
The largest European BMW plant is in Dingolfing, and according to the company, the proportion of purely electric vehicles in production is expected to increase to over 40 percent in the coming year. “From 2021 to 2024 we will have integrated a total of 15 fully electric vehicles into our production network,” explained Production Director Milan Nedeljkovic.
BMW launched an electric car early in 2013 with the i3. Since the i3 was expensive for a small car and sold poorly in the first few years, no new electric model came onto the market for years afterwards. In the meantime, given the competition from Tesla and China, there are fears that the German car industry as a whole may have missed the train of the times. BMW, like other German manufacturers, has started catching up.
In view of the fears of German industry moving abroad due to costs, Nedeljkovic emphasized that Bavaria should remain an important location. “And despite all the internationalization that is necessary in order to be able to grow in a globally balanced way, Bavaria remains an important pillar of the BMW Group and its production network,” said the manager.
More: Why aren’t there more electric cars in Germany?