BMW’s next-generation EV family code-named Neue Klasse will include North America as one of its production sites.
The automaker last week announced an investment of 800 million euros (approximately $860 million) to expand its vehicle plant in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí, where the automaker currently builds the 2-Series and 3-Series.
The latest investment will see production facilities added for Neue Klasse EVs and batteries, the latter featuring BMW’s denser round-cell format. Around 1,000 jobs are expected to be created once the expanded plant is at full capacity.
BMW said one of the key decisions for choosing the Mexican plant is its high flexibility. It means only minor adjustments will be needed in the body shop and assembly to accommodate the Neue Klasse’s platform which directly integrates the battery into the vehicle structure, BMW said.
The first EVs are scheduled to be built there in 2027. BMW last June said Neue Klasse EVs will first be built at a new plant in Debrecen, Hungary, starting in 2025, and at the automaker’s existing plant in Munich, Germany, starting in 2026.
BMW also plans to expand EV production to additional sites, including its vehicle plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The automaker last October announced a $1.7 billion investment in the U.S. plant to add EV and battery production. The automaker said six EVs will be built there by 2030, most of them likely to be electric versions of the existing SUV model lines built at the site.
The first Neue Klasse EV will be a sedan in the 3-Series segment, and will be followed by a sporty SUV, BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said last August. This points to the vehicles possibly being versions of the next 3-Series and X3.
At 2023 CES in January, BMW rolled out the i Vision Dee concept to preview digital features that will make their way into the Neue Klasse EVs, one of which will be a head-up display that spans the windshield.
