The German automaker BMW said on Friday that it intended to source electric batteries from six partner factories that will be open in North America, Europe and China, in order to equip its models sold from 2025.
The plants, two of which will be opened in each of the three regions, will have an annual capacity of ‘up to 20 gigawatt hours’ (GWh).
Unlike manufacturers who, like Tesla or Volkswagen, are opening their own battery production plants, BMW has chosen to partner with cell manufacturers, including the Chinese giant CATL, which is currently building its first factory in Germany.
The Chinese group EVE Energy is the partner chosen for two sites, in China and in Europe, details BMW in a press release, while the search is underway for factories in North America.
‘BMW has already awarded contracts’ of more than 10 billion euros to ensure the supply of batteries for its range of cars called ‘Neue Klasse’, marketed from 2025.
The manufacturing costs of these batteries – round and not square like most of those currently in use – will be ‘up to 50% lower’ than those of current generations.
These batteries represent ‘a great technological leap forward in terms of energy density, recharging speed and autonomy’, explains Frank Weber, director in charge of technical development at BMW.
The manufacturer, an electric pioneer with its i3 but which has since fallen behind the competition, is aiming for cumulative sales of more than two million purely electric cars by the end of 2025.
Before 2030, ‘50% of the group’s global sales could be electric cars’, adds BMW.
Volkswagen wants to become the first European manufacturer to manufacture some of its batteries itself and thus become less dependent on Asian production where China and Korea dominate this know-how.
The group has launched six European mega-plant projects with a capacity of 40 GWh each, as well as one in the United States.
The Stellantis group, resulting from the merger between Peugeot-Citroën and Fiat-Chrysler, plans to build a total of five large battery factories in Europe and North America.
/ATS