- Production will be interrupted for six weeks
- Employees will get a feel for their new workplace in a ‘Virtual Reality’ training space
In preparation for the production of the fully-electric BMW i4, the BMW plant at Munich in Germany will pause vehicle production for six weeks. No cars will be produced between 23 July and 7 September 2020.
The plant will take advantage of this break in production to implement numerous structural and remodelling measures before the fully-electric BMW i4 goes into standard production next year. As such, integrating the BMW i4 into the existing production system is a major challenge since the high-voltage battery makes the BMW i4 body concept different from that of the models previously built at this BMW plant.
The good news is that about 90 percent of the existing production systems used in the body shop can be integrated and enabled for future BMW i4 production. Only 10 percent - specifically, equipment used in the production of the rear end - cannot be integrated, because of the high-voltage battery. This requires new systems to be set up.
But that’s not all. In addition to installing new systems, the existing production equipment will also have to be converted. This is so that the BMW 3 Series sedan, 3 Series Touring (ICE and hybrid), the new BMW M3, and the fully-electric BMW i4 can all be produced on the same line.
Robert Engelhorn, Director, BMW Munich plant, said, “We are gearing up our Munich plant for the future. Once the remodelling is finished, we will be able to produce vehicles with diesel, petrol and hybrid drive trains, as well as the fully-electric BMW i4, all on the same line. This will allow us to respond flexibly to customer demand.”
