The BMW Group (Munich, Germany) is expanding its involvement in the field of sustainable, resource-efficient manufacturing of vehicle components made from natural fiber-reinforced materials. BMW i Ventures (Mountain View, Calif., U.S.), the premium carmaker’s venture capital firm, is now investing in Swiss clean tech company Bcomp Ltd. (Fribourg, Switzerland), a leading manufacturer of high-performance components made from natural fibers. At the same time, the two companies are also strengthening their partnership on the motorsport side, with Bcomp now an official BMW M Motorsport partner with the new BMW M4 GT4 racing car. Plus, BMW Group Research and Bcomp are also setting up a development alliance with the aim of using a higher proportion of renewable raw materials for components in future vehicle models.

Bcomp’s fiber reinforcement solutions were reportedly first deployed by BMW M Motorsport in Formula E in 2019. The flax cooling shaft on the BMW iFE.20 made it what BMW says was the first racing car with parts constructed from renewable textile fibers. Meanwhile, the Bcomp-developed powerRibs and ampliTex reinforcement solutions made from natural composite materials have been used in DTM touring cars from BMW M Motorsport to substitute selected carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) components. Such advances underline BMW M Motorsport’s vital role as a technology lab for the BMW Group, which is now set to continue with the collaboration on the BMW M4 GT4. Taking the findings and experience gained on the track as a basis, BMW Group adds that these material technologies will also find their way into BMW M models and BMW M Performance Parts.

“Product sustainability is increasing in importance in the world of motorsport too,” says Franciscus van Meel, chairman of the board of management at BMW M GmbH. “We are delighted to have Bcomp on board as an official BMW M Motorsport partner for the BMW M4 GT4 project.”

Inspired by leaf veins, the powerRibs reinforcement technology developed by Bcomp reportedly maximizes stiffness with minimal weight by creating a 3D structure on one side of a thin-walled shell element. This enables a decrease in the amount of base material used, thereby reducing weight, costs and consumables in production. The ampliTex reinforcements add a visible layer of flax fibers as a carbon-neutral replacement for the conventional covering material. Combining the two materials makes it possible to cut the amount of plastic used for interior paneling by up to 70%, BMW Group claims, while simultaneously reducing CO2 emissions by as much as 75%. The result is more sustainable vehicle components, whose ductile fracture properties have the additional benefit of increasing safety. The natural fiber composites also lend themselves to use with classical motor sport accessories, such as those in the BMW M Performance Parts range.

The development partnership between BMW Group Research and Bcomp is also working on the use of novel sustainable material solutions for future production models. BMW Group is seeking to lower its vehicles’ lifecycle carbon emissions by more than 40% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels.

At the current time, natural fibers are particularly well-suited to use in visible and paneling parts in vehicle interiors. “In order to reduce carbon emissions across its entire fleet, the BMW Group isn’t just focusing on the use phase — it is also paying attention to energy-saving processes during manufacture,” explains Florian Preuß, senior vice president, development complete vehicle, at the BMW Group. “Innovative material selection and composition are an important step here as we move towards climate neutrality.”

NEW YORK — BMW Chief Executive Officer Oliver Zipse said companies must be careful not to become too dependent on a select few countries by focusing only on electric vehicles, adding that there was still a market for combustion engine cars.

"When you look at the technology coming out, the EV push, we must be careful because at the same time, you increase dependency on very few countries," Zipse said at a roundtable in New York, highlighting that the supply of raw materials for batteries was controlled mostly by China.

"If someone cannot buy an EV for some reason but needs a car, would you rather propose he continues to drive his old car forever? If you are not selling combustion engines anymore, someone else will," said Zipse.

He has long advocated against all-out bans on combustion engine car sales in the face of rising pressure from regulators on the auto industry to curb its carbon emissions and environmental impact.

Offering more fuel-efficient combustion engine cars was key both from a profit perspective and an environmental perspective, Zipse argued, pointing to gaps in charging infrastructure and the high price of electric vehicles.

Companies also needed to plan for energy prices and raw materials to remain high by being more efficient in their production and stepping up recycling efforts to keep costs down, he said.

"We have a peak now, they might not stay at the peak, but they will not go back to former prices," he said. "How much energy you need and use, and circularity, is important — for environmental reasons but even more for economic reasons."

BMW will enter the next chapter of its electrification strategy with the launch of the Neu Klasse platform. The architecture is currently under development and the fruition of this process is expected in 2025 in the form of a fully-electric 3 Series. The initial focus of this new platform will be models from the midsize premium segment, the automaker’s CEO Oliver Zipse confirmed recently.

Speaking during the automaker’s first-quarter earnings call on Thursday, Zipse said the Neue Klasse will go into production in the middle of this decade at BMW’s new plant in Hungary. Vehicles based on the new architecture will be offered only with a purely electric powertrain, which is contrary to previous reports claiming Neue Klasse will also underpin combustion-powered models.

"When it hits the market, it will be concentrated on the 3-Series segment and at that point, in time the market will have developed into a size where it is reasonable to have only one drivetrain in that architecture," Zipse explained the reasons for the change in BMW’s strategy.

Following its initial launch, the Munich-based manufacturer will expand the scope of the Neue Klasse for use in electric vehicles from other segments. Citing a source close to BMW, Automotive News reports there will be a full range of zero-emissions vehicles based on the architecture, ranging “from the high-volume segment to exclusive high-performance models." The company’s combustion-fueled models, meanwhile, will continue to be based on other platforms.

As far as the 3 Series EV is concerned, it will hit the market in 2025 and will be vastly different from the i3 currently offered in China. The latter is an EV conversion based on the current 3 Series and is not underpinned by a dedicated platform for electric vehicles. Equipped with a 66.1 kWh battery pack, the China-only electric sedan has a range of up to 327 miles (526 kilometers) between charges but that’s based on China’s CLTC regime, which is generally generous.

BMW Group has announced today (June 20) that it sees an electrified future for its Steyr plant in Austria and will invest $1.05 billion (1 billion Euro) in the facility by 2030 to drive the production of e-drive vehicles.
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The Steyr plant is where the German automaker intends to manufacture a brand-new electric drive train. The development and production of its next-generation e-drives are set to start there in 2025. Thus, the Upper Austria-based plant will maintain its position as BMW Group’s leading drive-train location.

The announcement was made at a company event, and the carmaker also said the factory’s annual capacity is set to grow to over 600,000 e-drive units in the next years, while also maintaining its high production of diesel and gas-powered engines.

All main components integrated into BMW’s innovative e-drive train, including the rotor and stator, the inverter, the transmission, and the housing, will be produced on-site.

Aside from renovating existing production areas, the company plans to build two new assembly lines for e-drives. As such, the total production area will increase by about 60,000 square meters (14.8 acres).

Half of the 4,400 people the plant currently has in its employ will work in electromobility from 2025 going forward and the total investment in production will amount to around $748 million (710 million euros) by 2030.

BMW sees this effort as a significant turning point for the Steyr facility. Actually, they say it’s “the most important milestone” since it began operations in 1979.

“One out of every two BMW Group vehicles around the world today already has a ‘heart’ built in Steyr. From 2025, we will also develop and produce the next generation of e-drives here,” said Milan Nedeljkovi?, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for production. “Years of experience and a wealth of drive train expertise make BMW Group Plant Steyr the ideal location for the sustainable mobility of the future,” he added.

The investment makes complete sense since BMW previously said it wanted to deliver two million electric vehicles by 2025 alone..

Electric cars already have some concepts that are regarded as guidelines. Prismatic cells, for example: they are considered the ideal format because they are more compact, can increase energy density, and are easier to cool down. Cylindrical cells have only one advantage: price. After using prismatic cells for ages, BMW may be preparing to shift to cylindrical cells with EVE Energy, a Chinese battery maker. And that is not the only surprising bit.
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Reuters discovered that BMW wants a larger cylindrical cell. When we mention it will be bigger than the 2170 units used by most electric vehicles, what comes to mind is the 4680 battery that Tesla is still developing. According to Reuters’ sources, the EVE battery will be similar in size. That suggests it may be slightly different in diameter (46 millimeters) and length (80 mm).

EVE would have signed a supply contract with BMW to deliver these cylindrical cells to vehicles built over the Neue Klasse platform. This new modular architecture will underpin models from the 3 Series up to the 7 Series, as the CLAR platform does nowadays. According to Reuters, the first one to be manufactured with it will be the 3 Series in 2025.

These large prismatic cells will probably come from EVE’s plant in Debrecen, Hungary. Curiously, that is the same location where CATL announced it would build a 100-GWh battery factory. That will turn Hungary into an important EV center in Europe, despite Viktor Orbán’s controversial approach to Russia. BMW’s factory for the Neue Klasse vehicles will also be in Debrecen.

Reuters approached EVE Energy and BMW to confirm the information, and the Chinese battery maker did not respond. The German carmaker said it would have news about cells in early September. That looks very much like a veiled confirmation of the deal. However, there may be more behind this news.

EVE Energy is the main manufacturing partner for StoreDot, an Israeli battery startup that is promising Extreme Fast Charge (XFC) cells for quite some time. The startup recently said it could produce its cells in any format – prismatic or cylindrical – but it only talked about one automaker interested in its tech: VinFast. Among the images StoreDot disclosed, there were cylindrical 4680 cells. It can be just a coincidence, but what if BMW wants XFC batteries from EVE Energy? They will be ready for manufacturing around 2025 – another coincidence.

It will be interesting to listen to the excuse BMW will use for giving up on prismatic cells. Not long ago, the company used to make fun of front-wheel drive cars. Although that never happened with cylindrical cells, it will represent another significant change, of course, for the German company.

Oliver Zipse once said that BMW had “much more efficient ways to build a car body” than with mega castings. That was his way of saying Tesla’s recipe for new cars was not the best. On the other hand, the German company now seems to agree with the American EV maker that cylindrical cells are better than prismatic ones. BMW will make cylindrical cells of 46 millimeters in diameter and two different heights. We bet one of them is 80 mm.
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That makes this new “round cell” – as BMW calls it – precisely the same format Tesla adopted with its 4680 batteries. When the EV maker revealed these cells, it said they would present five times more energy, six times more power, and 16% more range than the 2170 batteries. BMW compares it to the prismatic cells it currently uses, which makes it impossible to properly match these figures with those presented by the German carmaker.

According to BMW, the new format allowed it to increase energy density by more than 20%. That happens because the cells can have more nickel and silicon and less cobalt. The new cylindrical cells will allow the German company to improve the range by up to 30% in its vehicles with the highest range nowadays. Besides these gains, cost seems to be king in BMW’s decision to adopt cylindrical cells.

The German automaker said that the cost of the battery pack can be slashed in half “thanks to the new battery cell and new integration concept for battery technology.” BMW is probably talking about cell-to-pack (CTP) or even cell-to-body (CTB), something that at least one of its future suppliers can help it with.

CATL and EVE Energy were selected to make these new cells and assist BMW in building six new battery factories, each of which able to produce 20 GWh annually. That’s a 120-GWh capacity for the Neue Klasse vehicles that will arrive in 2025. These plants will be evenly distributed in China, Europe, and the USMCA region: two in each of them. That should help BMW meet the new federal tax credit requirements for local battery production.

The new cells will have a percentage of recycled material. Their raw materials should come only from certified mines, meaning they comply “with environmental and social standards for raw material extraction.”

BMW also shared that it is studying LFP cells and developing all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs). The German carmaker intends to present a prototype running on these new cells “well before 2025.” The new battery packs will work at 800V and resist a current of up to 500 A. In other words, the new EVs will offer much lower charging times than the current ones.

621 miles is more than enough, says BMW.

BMW has been working very hard on sustainability of late, developing new technology for electric vehicles, moving away from leather in favor of so-called vegan upholstery, and using recycled materials to garnish new models. The brand's Neue Klasse architecture is particularly important, as this will debut a whole new way of creating BMW EVs.

Among the improvements coming to the platform is the switch to cylindrical battery cells similar to Tesla's 4680 ones, which will be far more efficient than what is currently in use. But instead of using these to chase massive range figures, BMW wants to limit the driving range of all its EVs. "Gen6 batteries will give us 30% or more range than our current Gen5, but we won't go over 1,000 kilometers [621 miles] of range, even though we can," said BMW head of Efficient Dynamics, Thomas Albrecht, in an interview with Autocar.

Albrecht went on to say that BMW feels cars don't need more range than that, especially as charging times improve. In fact, the Gen6 batteries will be able to charge up to 30% quicker on DC fast chargers than their contemporary counterparts, meaning they will be able to support super-fast charging of around 270 kilowatts, roughly what the Porsche Taycan EV can manage.

In addition, these new batteries will weigh 10-20% less than the Gen5 batteries, which currently weigh around 660 pounds for a mid-level pack. Along with the new shape, the cylindrical cells (measuring 46 millimeters in diameter and either 95 or 120 mm in height) also use unique chemistry with more nickel and less cobalt.

The batteries will be supplied by Chinese firms CATL and EV and will arrive in a new battery pack design that is thinner and more versatile. The battery pack will essentially become a structural element in the new platform.

BMW's head of battery cell development, Marie-Therese von Srbik, says, "With this next generation of battery, we will be much more flexible with how we integrate the cell. The whole vehicle is becoming more adaptive towards that."

As for how long the new cells would last, BMW's experts would not give an exact figure, but Albrecht did note that legislation is coming to further guarantee battery life. In the US, batteries will be required to offer 80% performance after 10 years, and BMW is already "performing better than that."

BMW expects that these improvements to battery design will even result in a 50% drop in production costs, which is especially notable since 40% of an EV's total cost is currently made up by the battery itself. Following on from the sustainability theme we touched on at the outset, BMW is also working to make batteries more recyclable, as von Srbik explained:

"We're still aiming for a cyclical life with the metals in our batteries. We've even managed to achieve our first closed loop with one of our manufacturers in China. But overall, it's a very long loop. Batteries have a long life, and you have to think about a whole new industry in the meantime, but we can eventually get to a point where most if not all of the precious metals in our batteries can be from recycled sources." BMW is also looking at lithium iron phosphate batteries for lower-range vehicles.

The first Neue Klasse EVs will debut in 2025, likely bringing with them an enhanced version of the current BMW i4.

The BMW Group announced two significant EV-related investments in South Carolina, valued at $1.7 billion in total.

The first part of $1 billion is to prepare for the production of all-electric vehicles at the company’s existing manufacturing facility in South Carolina - Plant Spartanburg.

This 30-year-old site currently produces 11 models including five X-series (X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7), four BMW M models and two plug-in hybrid X models (BMW X3 xDrive30e and BMW X5 xDrive45e, including battery pack assembly). Soon, an all-new hybrid-electric BMW XM will join the lineup. The plant capacity is up to 450,000 vehicles annually and so far, more than 6 million units have been built. Nearly 70,000 "electrified" BMWs were built at the site in 2021 alone.

According to the plan, Plant Spartanburg is expected to produce at least six all-electric BMW X models by 2030. This suggests that basically all models will get more or less direct fully-electric counterparts.

To support local BEV production, the company will invest an additional $700 million in a New High-Voltage Battery Assembly Facility in Woodruff, South Carolina. This new plant will produce battery packs for the all-electric BMW X models.

One of the most important parts of the announcement is that the battery packs will be built using BMW's sixth-generation battery cells, which are cylindrical - a standard diameter of 46 mm and two different heights: 95 and 120 mm.
BMW round battery cell (right) side-by-side- with a prismatic battery cell (left)

BMW Group Chairman of the Board of Management, Oliver Zipse said:

“For decades, Plant Spartanburg has been a cornerstone of the global success of the BMW Group. It is he home of the BMW X models that are so popular all over the world. Going forward, it will also be a major driver for our electrification strategy, and we will produce at least six fully electric BMW X models here by 2030. That means: The ‘Home of the X’ is also becoming the ‘Home of the Battery Electric Vehicle’.

In addition, we can showcase BMW Group’s ‘local for local’ principle: Our newly developed sixth generation battery cells, which were specifically designed for the next generation electric vehicles, will be sourced here in South Carolina – where X goes electric.”
BMW Group investments in South Carolina:

• existing Plant Spartanburg - $1 billion
  at least six full-electric BMW X models by 2030
• New High-Voltage Battery Assembly Facility - $700 million
  location: in Woodruff, South Carolina (near Plant Spartanburg)
  battery pack production using BMW's sixth generation battery cells
  over 1 million sq. ft.
  300 new jobs

Partnership with Envision AESC

Another big announcement is that the BMW Group has selected Envision AESC as its lithium-ion battery cell supplier for Plant Spartanburg.

Under the partnership, Envision AESC will build a new battery gigafactory in South Carolina with an output of up to 30 GWh annually (an equivalent of 300,000 vehicles with a 100 kWh battery pack each).

That's pretty much a hat trick for South Carolina, which attracted three substantial EV-related investments at one time.

It means also that Envision AESC joins CATL and EVE Energy as the third supplier of newly developed round lithium-ion battery cells for the BMW Group.

Let's recall that the German company intends to have six plants (20 GWh each), including two in Europe, two in China, and two in the North America free trade zone. CATL will build one in China and one in Europe. Same as EVE Energy. With the fifth plant built by Envision AESC (30 GWh instead of 20 GWh), there is just one slot left now for North America.

"In line with the principle of "local for local,” the BMW Group aims to purchase battery cells for its electric vehicles where production takes place. The company has found a partner in Envision AESC, which will build a new battery cell factory in South Carolina, to supply Plant Spartanburg. Envision will produce newly developed round lithium-ion battery cells, which were specifically designed for the sixth generation of BMW eDrive technology and will be used in the next generation electric vehicles."

Envision AESC gigafactory in South Carolina:

• production: potentially from 2026 (according to Envision Group via CnEVPost)
• manufacturing capacity: 30 GWh per year
• batteries: cells BMW's sixth generation cylindrical battery cells (no info about version - 4695, 46120 or both).

Envision AESC was acquired by Envision Group a few years ago from Nissan, which still holds about a fifth of its former joint venture (originally established with NEC).

The company has a small battery plant in Tennessee and a new battery gigafactory underway in Kentucky. Other Envision AESC facilities are in Japan, China and Europe (UK).

BMW has an impressively complex lineup with gasoline, diesel, plug-in hybrid, and electric models as the Bavarian brand wants to live up to its "Power of Choice" ethos. It's one of the few automakers that hasn't set a death sentence for the good ol' internal combustion engine since it believes the world won't be ready to completely embrace EVs in the next decade. The German luxury marque argues the transition will take time and shouldn't be rushed.

In the meantime, it's reportedly planning to update its naming strategy to provide more clarity. A well-known BMW insider from the Bimmer Post forums claims the gasoline-only cars will lose the letter "i" from the end of their names starting with the new models coming from 2024. The next-generation 1 Series and X3 are believed to lead the way as both are expected to enter production in a little over a year from now: July 2024 for the hatch and August 2024 for the crossover.


Codenamed F70, the new 1 Series is coming initially in 118 and quad-pipe M135 flavors alongside a couple of diesels that will be retaining the "d" at the end of their names: 118d and 120d. Additional gas versions of the new 1er could be the 116, 120, and 128 xDrive. Bear in mind the current model is rumored to skip the typical midlife update (Life Cycle Impulse in BMW jargon) and jump straight to its fourth generation.Known internally as the G45, the new X3 will be sold with gasoline engines as the X3 20, X3 20 xDrive, X3 30 xDrive, and as X3 M50 xDrive. The latter is expected to supersede today's M40i, and hopefully, it'll still have an inline-six engine. The BMW insider isn't mentioning the M40d, which might be a sign the 3.0-liter diesel performance version won't be renewed for another generation of the posh crossover.

Apparently, a full-fat X3 M is still planned and BMW has been assigned the G97 codename. Another purely electric iX3 is also coming, but this time around, it will move away from the existing CLAR platform to adopt the Neue Klasse – the company's first dedicated EV architecture.