BMW Group pouring $1.7b into US EV manufacturing

BMW has dedicated to turning its South Carolina manufacturing plant into an EV manufacturing hub.

It was revealed solely days in the past the BMW Group will transfer manufacturing of the EV vary of Mini Coopers to China and Germany as its amenities in Oxford are “not equipped for electrical automobiles.” 

Nonetheless, the Group is taking a unique method throughout the pond within the USA, the place it is going to make investments US$1.7 billion (A$2.7b) in constructing at the very least six EV fashions by 2030 in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

It has additionally confirmed it is going to construct a brand new battery meeting facility close by as a part of the plan. The Group has introduced a partnership with Envision AESC, which is able to construct a South Carolina plant to solely present BMW with bespoke spherical lithium-ion cells. 

BMW and Envision declare the next-generation batteries can be 20 per cent extra power dense, cost 30 per cent quicker, and improve vary by 30 per cent relative to present items, whereas the manufacturing of the batteries will create 60 per cent much less CO2 emissions. 

The manufacturing unit may have a capability of as much as 30GWh, which means will probably be able to producing batteries for round 300,000 electrical automobiles per yr. 

The partnership with Envision follows an announcement from BMW earlier this yr it is going to accomplice with Chinese language battery suppliers CATL and EVE for cell manufacturing in China and Europe. 

US$1 billion (A$1.6 billion) of the brand new infrastructure funding can be used to convey Plant Spartanburg as much as commonplace for manufacturing of EVs.

The plant at the moment produces 11 automobiles, together with the X5 and X7 offered in Australia. Simply two of the automobiles it builds are plug-in hybrids at the moment; the rest are pure internal-combustion fashions.

The remaining US$700 million (A$1.12 million) can be used for the development of the battery meeting location in Woodruff, South Carolina.  

BMW Chairman Oliver Zipse mentioned the South Carolina plant will develop into the ‘House of the Battery Electrical Car’, and a ‘main driver’ for BMW’s electrification plans globally.

These new investments will imply BMW can procure and assemble EV batteries, in addition to manufacture the automobiles all inside one state to cut back environmental influence.

US manufacturing of BMW EVs can even guarantee automobiles are topic to a US$7500 (A$11,968) tax credit score.

As a part of the Inflation Discount Act signed by US President Joe Biden in August, solely EVs manufactured within the US are eligible for the credit score.

The laws additionally requires 40 per cent of crucial battery minerals to be sourced from the US or free-trade companions by subsequent yr, and 80 per cent by 2027.

In remarks about this requirement reported by Reuters, Mr Zipse mentioned the US “ought to have a regulation that’s not utterly unrealistic” and warned, “It will be a catastrophe in the event you cease business from creating.”

The Biden Administration introduced Wednesday it’s awarding US$2.8 billion in grants to spice up US manufacturing of EV batteries and the minerals they use in a transfer to cut back the dependence on Chinese language supplies.

“China at the moment controls a lot of the crucial mineral provide chain and the dearth of mining, processing, and recycling capability within the U.S. might hinder electrical car improvement and adoption, leaving the U.S. depending on unreliable international provide chains,” the White Home mentioned.