According to the online magazine The Verge, BMW has high hopes for its Neue Klasse, which will heavily rely on the company’s new Gen6 batteries. Announced in March 2024, BMW’s Neue Klasse vehicles will feature an entirely new electric architecture that will benefit from the increased energy density, decreased manufacturing costs, and faster charging speeds of the Gen6 batteries.
A recent BMW press release stated, “With the new sixth-generation BMW eDrive technology (Gen6 for short), the BMW Group is making a technological quantum leap. Improvements on the product side include a 30% faster charging speed and a 30% increase in range, with certain models achieving even higher figures. Added to this, the Gen6 high-voltage battery concept benefits from the new 800V technology. Gen6 will make its debut this year in the Neue Klasse and subsequently be used to drive models across the BMW Group’s fully electric product range.”
The Gen6 batteries will be easier to replace in case of failure. While the Gen5 batteries are known for their reliability, they have faced criticism for being challenging to repair individually, as the entire battery pack must be replaced when issues arise. In contrast, the Gen6 batteries are cylindrical, lighter, smaller, more efficient, and can be replaced individually. Gen6 batteries also have a new controller dubbed the “Energy Master,” which can better manage charging and power management.
BMW Gen6 Battery pack with the Energy Master unit that will attach to the top of the pack.
In addition to being manufactured in Landshut, Germany, the new batteries will soon be manufactured in the U.S. at the new BMW Plant Woodruff, located in South Carolina just a few miles away from BMW’s largest automotive plant in the world, BMW Plant Spartanburg. BMW Plant Woodruff started construction in 2023 and will make Gen6 batteries for new X3 and other vehicles assembled at Plant Spartanburg. A BMW press release states, “BMW Group Plant Woodruff will cover an area of about 93 hectares and consist of a technology building, ancillary structures, an energy center, a staff restaurant, and a fire department. It will create more than 300 new jobs with the BMW Group. When construction reaches completion in 2026, Woodruff will assemble high-voltage batteries for fully electric cars made in nearby Plant Spartanburg.”
BMW Plant Woodruff will manufacture Gen6 batteries for vehicles assembled at nearby BMW Plant Spartanburg. Both plants are located in South Carolina.
Read the full Verge article here.
Tags: battery technology EV US Plants