BMW has updated its Regensburg plant to prepare for the Neue Klasse electric platform. During a production pause from August 8 to 30, the company installed a new pre-assembly line for energy modules (VEMs) to integrate high-voltage batteries into vehicle bodies, a process the company calls the 'battery marriage'.
The new infrastructure includes a high-bay warehouse in a neighboring building that can store energy modules for a full day of production. Batteries are transported automatically via a conveyor bridge to the pre-assembly area, where gantry grippers and robots screw the battery and body together before the vehicle enters the regular assembly process.
Beyond battery integration, BMW updated every production facility in vehicle assembly to allow for the flexible production of various models and drive types on the same lines. These preparations follow previous adaptations in body construction, the paint shop, and vehicle assembly during the 2024/2025 year-end transition.
The Regensburg plant is BMW Group's highest-volume facility in Europe, producing more than 1,400 vehicles daily. In 2024, approximately 342,500 cars were built there, with electrified models accounting for more than one-third of the total production.
BMW has not yet specified the exact start date or the first model for Neue Klasse production in Regensburg, but the company has stated that production will begin in the second half of this decade.
