Latest news with #NeueKlasseEVs
Motor 1
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Motor 1
BMW: 'The Combustion Engine Is Our Foundation'
Many carmakers rushed to set cutoff dates for combustion engines, only to backtrack on their lofty electric goals just a few years later. But BMW didn't break any promises for the simple reason that it never announced an end to gas-powered cars. On several occasions, CEO Oliver Zipse emphasized that the switch to electric shouldn't be forced and that consumers should have the freedom to choose, citing high EV prices and an underdeveloped charging infrastructure. In a new interview with the German business newspaper Automobilwoche (subscription required) , a senior BMW official stated, 'The combustion engine is our foundation and will also finance our future business.' Klaus von Moltke is the plant manager at BMW's Steyr factory in Austria, where 1.2 million engines were built last year. He added that the development of conventional powertrains will continue. To secure the ICE's future, engineers will make the three- to eight-cylinder engines compliant with upcoming Euro 7 regulations. Photo by: BMW While it might seem BMW is referring only to gasoline engines, diesel isn't dead yet. Von Moltke stated that the company is testing various fuels compatible with internal combustion engines, including HVO100, for diesel-powered cars. The abbreviation stands for 'hydrotreated vegetable oil,' and '100' indicates it's a pure, unblended fuel. BMW is already filling up diesel cars made in Germany with HVO100 before shipping them to dealers. The company claims CO₂ emissions are reduced by as much as 90% compared to conventional diesel. In addition to environmental benefits, diesel engines running on HVO100 are said to perform better during cold starts and are less prone to microbial contamination due to the fuel's purity. Beyond combustion engines, BMW's Steyr factory in Upper Austria is also producing 'electric engines' for future Neue Klasse EVs. Pre-production of sixth-generation electric motors began about a year ago for prototypes, ahead of the new iX3's debut this September at the IAA Mobility show in Munich. Series production of the electric crossover will start late this year at BMW's new Debrecen plant in Hungary. Photo by: Alex Goy | Motor1 Although BMW remains committed to combustion engines for the long haul, it expects sales to be evenly split between ICE and EV models by the end of the decade. Reaching 50% in just five years is ambitious, given that EVs accounted for only 17.4% of total BMW Group sales (including Mini and Rolls-Royce) last year. In the first quarter of 2025, EVs made up nearly 19% of shipments, so the company must feel pretty confident it can reach parity by 2030. Asked whether the European Union will follow through on its plan to ban sales of new combustion-engine cars by 2035 , Klaus von Moltke replied: 'It's not our job to make such assumptions; that's pointless. Our job is to consider all possible scenarios, prepare for each one, and ensure our delivery capability.' BMW is keeping all options open and has not yet fully committed its resources to EVs. It remains invested in combustion engines and has already confirmed a new gasoline-powered M3 with an inline-six is in development, likely with some form of electrification. The larger M5 hasn't lost any cylinders either, as its V-8 is now part of a plug-in hybrid setup to meet increasingly strict emissions standards. BMW's Main Rivals Have Had A Change Of Heart: Mercedes Makes 'Course Correction' to Extend Combustion Engine Life Audi Changes Its Mind. Will Make Gas Cars For Another 10 Years Source: Automobilwoche Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Rethinking U.S. battery plant investments
The second of five Intelligence Report installments explores how automakers and suppliers are scaling back and delaying investments in battery plants to avoid getting too far ahead of the market. General Motors now wants only three U.S. battery plants, not four. Ford Motor Co. has put one of two battery plants planned for Kentucky farmland on hold indefinitely. Battery makers AESC and Gotion High Tech Co. have paused construction of plants in South Carolina and Michigan. With demand for electric vehicles stagnating, automakers and suppliers have been reassessing their multibillion-dollar investments in U.S. battery plants. Many have been scaled back or delayed to avoid getting too far ahead of a market that has developed far more slowly than anticipated. Here's where some of the most high-profile domestic battery manufacturing projects stand. Rethinking U.S. battery plant investments Public auto retailers take mixed approaches to 2025 used-vehicle sales amid tariffs AESC has paused construction on a $1.6 billion battery cell plant in Florence, S.C. The factory was to make cylindrical battery cells for BMW's next-generation Neue Klasse EVs. Despite the delay, BMW said it remains on track to begin EV production at its Greer, S.C., assembly plant late next year. AESC, majority-owned by China's Envision Group, attributed the halt in construction to 'policy and market uncertainty.' Japan-based AESC, which has invested more than $1 billion in the Florence plant, said it anticipates resuming construction once 'circumstances stabilize.' This year, AESC canceled a $1.5 billion expansion at the site. The supplier has struggled to secure financing for the battery project, and U.S. tariffs have escalated startup costs because AESC planned to import some factory equipment from China, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The federal budget bill making its way through Congress could imperil Ford's BlueOval Battery Park in Marshall, Mich., Bill Ford, the company's executive chair, said in May. That's because the company is relying on a Biden administration battery production tax credit that would be eliminated if the bill becomes law. However, construction at the site continues and is now more than halfway complete, a spokesperson said. Equipment is set to be installed in the plant in the coming months, as Ford remains on track to begin production there in 2026. Ford originally planned to create 2,500 jobs, but the company in 2023 downsized its plans to roughly 1,700, with planned annual capacity of the lithium iron phosphate batteries falling by more than 40 percent to 20 gigawatt-hours. A spokesperson said the total investment is roughly $3 billion. Sign up for the weekly Automotive News Mobility Report newsletter for the latest developments at the intersection of transportation and technology. Marshall is one of four battery plant projects underway. Ford has partnered with SK On for three lithium ion battery facilities in two states: BlueOval SK in Glendale, Ky., and BlueOval City in Stanton, Tenn. The Tennessee battery facility will be part of a sprawling $5.6 billion BlueOval City complex that includes an EV assembly plant. The company originally expected to begin production there in 2025, but a spokesperson said 'market demand and customer orders' will determine when the plant begins production. The Kentucky project, a $5.8 billion investment, includes two battery plants. The first is slated to open this year, while Ford in 2024 indefinitely delayed the second. Nissan could utilize one of the Kentucky plants to build its own cells, Automotive News reported in March. Each of Ford's BlueOval SK battery plants is expected to create 2,500 jobs. General Motors is moving forward with three U.S. EV battery plants after selling its stake in a fourth to joint-venture partner LG Energy Solution, citing sufficient production capacity to meet demand. With LG, GM is producing pouch-style battery cells at two plants in Ohio and Tennessee under the Ultium Cells banner, using nickel cobalt manganese aluminum chemistry. The first, in Warren, Ohio, began production in 2022 and has an expected annual production capacity of 41 GWh. The second, in Spring Hill, Tenn., started shipping its first battery cells in March 2024. In December, GM said it would sell its stake in a third Ultium Cells plant, near Lansing, Mich., to LG. The Lansing plant will become wholly owned by LG and supply an automaker other than GM. GM and LG also have said they plan to co-develop prismatic-style battery cells, with the first commercial application coming by 2028 with a cell called lithium manganese-rich. These cells are expected to start in electric pickups and full-size SUVs. Separately, GM announced plans in June 2023 to construct a fourth battery plant with joint-venture partner Samsung SDI, a $3.5 billion project near New Carlisle, Ind., to begin production in 2027 with an initial annual production capacity of 27 GWh. The GM-Samsung plant is expected to produce prismatic-style battery cells. Gotion has paused construction of a $2.4 billion battery plant in rural northern Michigan amid a legal battle with local officials. Board members in the township and county withdrew their support for the project, which promised to bring more than 2,300 jobs to the area, over environmental concerns and the company's ties to China. Hyundai has two battery investments in Georgia. One is its joint-venture factory with supplier LG Energy Solution on the site of the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America EV complex outside Savannah. It has an annual production capacity of 30 GWh. The second is a joint venture with SK On in Bartow County that has an expected production capacity of 35 GWh. Both factories will support the production of 300,000 EVs from Hyundai, Genesis and Kia. They are both expected to begin production in the first half of 2026, which is a slight delay from their initial late-2025 target. LG Energy Solution delayed work on its $5.5 billion battery plant in Queen Creek, Ariz., but now expects to start mass production in the first half of 2026. The plant, with a production capacity of 36 GWh, will handle orders from Tesla and Rivian. It's LG's first cylindrical and energy storage system battery plant in North America. Stellantis is investing $6.3 billion into two EV battery factories in Kokomo, Ind. The two projects are a joint venture between Stellantis and Samsung SDI called StarPlus that will produce lithium ion batteries. The first plant began production in 2025. Stellantis said it was aiming for an initial capacity of 23 GWh with plans to reach 33 GWh. The second facility is expected to start production in 2027 with a capacity of 34 GWh. The projects are expected to bring a combined 2,800 jobs to the area. NextStar Energy, a joint venture between LG Energy Solution and Stellantis, started building battery modules in October at a $3.7 billion plant in Windsor, Ontario. Cell production is expected to begin this year. Toyota has begun preproduction of hybrid batteries in a portion of its massive, multibuilding $13.9 billion battery manufacturing complex in Liberty, N.C. The complex consists of 14 assembly lines to supply lithium ion batteries for battery-electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles in North America for Toyota, Lexus, Subaru and now Honda. The first saleable batteries were initially to be available in the first quarter of 2025, but that timeline has slipped into the second half of this year. The project is expected to ultimately employ 5,100 people and produce 30 GWh of batteries per year, with about 1,950 people currently employed. Batteries for EVs have slipped into 2026 in large part because of ongoing supply chain issues. Volkswagen Group battery unit PowerCo still intends to build a $7 billion Canadian battery plant in St. Thomas, Ontario, midway between Toronto and Windsor, to serve as a regional supply chain for EVs in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. The plans were first revealed in 2023, but PowerCo has yet to begin to pour concrete on the site. PowerCo told Automotive News Canada that it's hiring local staff and has recommitted to its production timeline, despite missing its original target to begin construction. 'We are focused on delivering a project with the right engineering and supply chain partners and remain on track for initial production in 2027, followed by a demand-based ramp-up of commercial production,' a PowerCo Canada spokesperson told Automotive News Canada. Executives at VW Group-backed Scout Motors have said PowerCo would be a logical supplier of batteries for its vehicles. Scout production is to begin in 2027. Vince Bond Jr., Urvaksh Karkaria, David Kennedy, Michael Martinez, Carly Schaffner, Lindsay VanHulle, Larry P. Vellequette and Jack Walsworth contributed to this report. Have an opinion about this story? Tell us about it and we may publish it in print. Click here to submit a letter to the editor. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
