BMW has inaugurated its new vehicle plant in Debrecen, Hungary, marking a €2 billion investment aimed at supporting the German carmaker’s shift toward electric vehicles. The factory will begin producing the new iX3 electric SUV in October, the first model based on BMW’s “New Class” platform.
The Debrecen site is BMW’s first vehicle plant powered entirely by renewable energy in normal operations and is designed around the company’s iFACTORY production principles. Construction began in mid-2022, and the plant will also assemble BMW’s sixth-generation high-voltage batteries directly on site to reduce transport needs.
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“The new Debrecen plant is our first fully electric factory that operates entirely without fossil fuels – and the first to produce New Class vehicles,” BMW Chief Executive Oliver Zipse said at the opening on Friday, adding that the facility would be a key factor in the company’s future success.
Series production of the iX3 will start at the end of October. The SUV is expected to deliver up to 805 kilometers of driving range under the WLTP cycle and add as much as 372 kilometers of range in ten minutes at 800-volt fast-charging stations.
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The event was attended by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who welcomed BMW’s investment and linked it to decades of cooperation between the German and Hungarian auto industries. The Debrecen plant is one of Hungary’s largest greenfield investments, located near a major battery factory currently under construction by China’s CATL.