BMW CEO Oliver Zipse sat down and had a chat with the daily Bavarian newspaper Münchner Merkur during which he shared some tidbits about the company’s future. We’ve already learned the workforce will increase by 6,000 employees this year to meet the strong customer demand for EVs. On the same subject of electrification, the head honcho said the Munich plant in Germany could go fully electric as early as 2026.
By that, we mean BMW could make the necessary changes at the factory to build only EVs in four years’ time. However, it will only happen provided there will be enough customer demand for zero-emission vehicles to convince the company to retire gasoline- and diesel-fueled models from the assembly lines in Munich.
Even if the factory won’t completely switch to EVs by 2026, Oliver Zipse expects the German luxury brand will “mainly” build electric cars in Bavaria’s capital. Having entered production back in October 2021, the i4 is leading the way in terms of BMW’s ambition to bolster the manufacturing of zero-emission vehicles.
A recent rumor alleges BMW will be adding a Saturday shift at the Munich factory to keep up with high customer demand for the i4. Much like the iX assembled in Dingolfing, both electric models are sold out for months. Demand for the SUV could grow further soon considering the high-performance M60 will be officially revealed tomorrow at CES in Las Vegas.
It will be interesting to see what will happen between now and 2026 with the Munich plant considering the 3 Series is built there, together with the 320e and 320e plug-in hybrids and the range-topping M3. At the same production facility, BMW puts together the 3 Series Touring and will add the first-ever M3 wagon to the assembly line before the end of the year. The i4’s combustion-engined counterpart, the 4 Series Gran Coupe, is produced at the same factory.
[Source: Muenchner Merkur]
