The BMW Group is investing millions to make its plant in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, ready for the NEUE KLASSE, accelerating the production of pioneering electric vehicles.
Electric, circular, digital: the BMW Group is ushering in a new era of electromobility from 2025 with the NEUE KLASSE, the next generation of vehicles. With this in mind the company is continuously investing in the expansion of its global production network. The BMW Group is taking the next important step at its Mexican plant in San Luis Potosí. Three different models are already rolling off the production line there, and the BMW Group is now investing another 800 million euros and creating around 1,000 new jobs in the process. This is how the BMW Group is accelerating its production of electric vehicles. At the same time, it is underpinning its ambition for 50 per cent of global BMW vehicle sales to be fully electric before 2030.
“We are creating around 1,000 new jobs.”
“We are systematically gearing our production network towards electromobility,” explains Milan Nedeljković, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Production, in San Luis Potosí at an event with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and San Luis Potosí Governor Ricardo Gallardo Cardona. “The first cars of the NEUE KLASSE will come off the production line at our plant in Debrecen, Hungary, starting in 2025, followed by the main plant in Munich. We will achieve additional volumes by integrating the NEUE KLASSE at Plant San Luis Potosí from 2027 onwards.”
High-voltage battery assembly being set up in Mexico.
The BMW Group plant in San Luis Potosí, which opened in 2019, was designed to be highly flexible. This means it just takes a few adjustments to body construction and assembly to expand production to include electric models – in line with the innovative BMW iFACTORY production strategy. A large part of the investment costs, 500 million euros, will go towards constructing a local high-voltage battery assembly plant. More than 500 new employees will manufacture the batteries on the 85,000-square-metre plant. These will be integrated directly into the NEUE KLASSE vehicle structure.
“Outstanding team.”
“With this new investment, our plant in San Luis Potosí will play a central role in BMW Group’s transition to electromobility,” says Harald Gottsche, President and CEO at BMW Group Plant San Luis Potosí. “The company is increasing its commitment to Mexico and its stake in our facility, not only due to its strategic location but, above all, to a solid work team, which, in less than four years after starting operations, already produces three models that supply 74 global markets and stand out for their quality.”
The plant has already started to recruit and qualify new employees and has increased the number of apprenticeships in the current training year. A second shift will be introduced at the plant in April 2023 providing 500 extra jobs, making a total of about 1,000 additional employees working in San Luis Potosí in the future.
Future-oriented production of tomorrow – today.
The central Mexico location exemplifies not only quality and flexibility, but also the innovative and resource-saving car production of tomorrow. The region is arid, which makes it even more imperative to use natural resources such as water sparingly. San Luis Potosí is therefore home to the first BMW Group paint shop that completely recycles its process waste water. In other words: the water used in the painting process of the models produced here is subsequently treated and reused. Electricity comes from the factory’s own 70,000 square metre solar plant, located on the premises.
The BMW Group continues to consistently and successfully implement its master plan for the production of the future in San Luis Potosí as well – the BMW iFACTORY.
