Munich. With the aim of advancing circularity in the automotive industry, the BMW Group has undertaken important groundwork in the recycling of vehicles at the end of their useful life. For 30 years, the BMW Group’s Recycling and Dismantling Centre (RDC) has been developing and testing processes to achieve significant advances in the recycling of parts and reusable materials. The expertise gained at the RDC is shared with a global network in the recycling industry and helps to promote the establishment of a circular economy in the automotive industry. It also feeds into the BMW Group’s product design process, ensuring that a new model’s recyclability is considered from the outset.

Each year, the RDC recycles several thousand vehicles, most of which are pre-series vehicles that have been used for testing and cannot be sold to end customers. These are dismantled using a standardised process that focuses on identifying reusable series components and materials suitable for recycling.

Centre of excellence for recycling provides the template for the entire industry.
What began in 1994 as a new, company-owned recycling facility has transformed over three decades into a true centre of excellence for vehicle recycling. In view of new regulations and the BMW Group’s ambitious targets, the RDC will play an even more important role going forward: the expertise it has built is key to further improving the recyclability of vehicles.

The BMW Group was instrumental in setting up the IDIS (International Dismantling Information System) platform, on which the RDC publishes its data and findings. These are then available free of charge to recycling companies around the world. Some 3,000 organisations in 41 countries currently use the joint recycling database to learn how to dismantle recyclable components cost-effectively and recover valuable materials efficiently.

Developing and improving recycling processes is part of the effort to reduce the environmental footprint, while conserving resources also helps to reduce emissions.

Today’s scrap is tomorrow’s raw material.
Vehicle recycling at the RDC begins with the controlled release of the restraint systems and the pumping out of all fluids. A proprietary BMW Group process is used to neutralise the pyrotechnics in the airbags, among other things. Oil is also removed from the shock absorbers using a specially developed device.

During the subsequent dismantling phase, the focus is initially on recycling individual components. Functional components in mint condition and with series status are not disposed of but passed on to registered dealers for resale. During the mechanical dismantling of the rest of the vehicle, certain materials, such as the copper contained in the wiring harnesses, are separated using a specially designed excavator. Once the engine block and gearbox have been removed, the remaining vehicle is pressed and shredded at an external recycling facility.

The targeted dismantling of metals ensures that today’s scrap becomes tomorrow’s raw material – to the greatest possible extent and in the best possible quality. This is not only important from an environmental point of view, but also from a financial one: just like copper, metals used in the powertrain generate particularly high revenues. Separate dismantling of the catalytic converter is also economically efficient because of the valuable precious metals it contains.

Car2Car: Rigorous research for efficient recycling.
The BMW Group also supports external research efforts into how innovative recycling processes can conserve resources and increase economic efficiency. In the Car2Car research project, subsidised by the Federal German government, the RDC provides both expertise and end-of-life vehicles. Over the past year, the project has developed methods that make it possible to utilise a much greater share of recyclable materials from end-of-life vehicles in the production of new cars, especially steel, aluminium, copper, glass and plastics.

The BMW Group has taken on the role of consortium leader in the Car2Car consortium and is collaborating with members of the recycling industry, raw material processing companies and scientists. The mid-term review of the project shows great interim progress in evaluating the economic and environmental impacts of different recycling processes. The exchange of knowledge and collaborative analysis have led to new perspectives on the recycling of residual materials, providing a solid foundation on which to build innovative processes. For example, scientists and industry experts are jointly designing semi-automated dismantling processes that will enable the cost-effective separation of recyclable materials.

Circular design for a closed material cycle.
Any knowledge gained at the RDC about the recyclability of components and materials is already incorporated into the BMW Group’s product development. By applying the principles of Re:Think, Re:Duce, Re:Use and Re:Cycle, the BMW Group aims to ensure that vehicles are available as a source of raw materials for new cars at the end of their useful life, which in Germany is on average 21 years. A key factor in these efforts is the use of mono-materials instead of composites, as they are easier to recycle thanks to their greater purity.

Production processes at the BMW Group’s plants around the world are also being revised based on the RDC’s findings: in new vehicle production, preference is given to methods that facilitate the dismantling of components and the separation of materials by type. For example, gluing has been replaced by innovative joining solutions.

Closed-loop recycling for high-voltage batteries.
As electromobility becomes more widespread, the recycling of high-voltage batteries is increasingly becoming another top priority. For many years, the RDC has been working in partnership with industry and academia to develop innovative methods to recycle BEV batteries.

Once again, the RDC is setting the pace on the road to circularity. Over the past three decades, it has repeatedly supported the development of new models, materials, and technologies by providing advances in recycling. Now, in the age of electromobility, the RDC has taken on the additional task of gathering in-depth expertise on the reuse of valuable resources and making it widely available to the recycling industry. In this way, the RDC is consistently expanding its role as a centre of excellence for vehicle recycling. At a time when the circular economy is becoming increasingly important for the future of the automotive industry, the RDC’s expertise and skills are in greater demand than ever.

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Diana Schaidnagel, Press Officer Sustainability BMW Group

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Isabel Richter, Team Leader Sustainability Communications BMW Group

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E-mail: presse@bmwgroup.com

The BMW Group

With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production network comprises over 30 production sites worldwide; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2023, the BMW Group sold over 2.55 million passenger vehicles and more than 209,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the financial year 2023 was € 17.1 billion on revenues amounting to € 155.5 billion. As of 31 December 2023, the BMW Group had a workforce of 154,950 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company set the course for the future at an early stage and consistently makes sustainability and efficient resource management central to its strategic direction, from the supply chain through production to the end of the use phase of all products. 

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Munich / Hanover. The BMW Group showcased current fields of application for the Catena-X data ecosystem at the Hannover Messe on Wednesday. Working together with partners and suppliers, the company has modelled a complete data chain for the first time using real-world CO₂ data from the manufacture of the iconic kidney grille on the BMW iX. The company also demonstrated the benefits of data-driven quality work. 

“We – the BMW Group and our partners – will use the radical new collaboration approach embodied by Catena-X to improve our value creation processes within the context of sustainability, supply security and quality – and at the same time reduce costs,” announced Oliver Ganser, Vice President Digitalisation of the Purchasing and Supplier Network at the BMW Group and Chairman of the Board of Catena-X e.V., at the Hannover Messe. “The more national and international companies come on board, the greater the added value for all concerned,” added Ganser.

Catena-X makes its debut in production.
At BMW Group Plant Landshut, the company is piloting data-based energy consumption measurement in the manufacture of a whole component for the first time. “Together with our partners, we are using the Catena-X data ecosystem to calculate the product carbon footprint (PCF) of the kidney grille on the BMW iX,” explained Sabrina Schrangl, Project Lead Catena-X BMW Group Component Manufacturing. The iconic kidney grille on the BMW iX serves as an optimum application example here due to its complexity.

The PCF is calculated based on the Catena-X rulebook and covers all “grade-to-gate” emissions generated during the product’s manufacture – starting with the extraction of the raw materials, through the emissions generated in the supply chain to the manufacturing processes at the production facility. Here, the partners use the Catena-X-certified CO₂ application from Siemens AG, which enables data exchange (based on the Catena-X calculation logic) and connectivity between Plant Landshut and high-performance plastics supplier Covestro AG.

Catena-X enables improved quality at the BMW Group by using a data-driven instead of hardware-based approach.
By introducing a shared “language” for all companies in the automotive value chain, the data ecosystem enables smooth exchange of data. Catena-X members can use this data in their quality assurance processes to carry out an early-warning analysis based on field data. At present, the BMW Group exchanges data with Robert Bosch GmbH on the particle sensor and steering gear, among other things. In this way, patterns and anomalies can be identified up to four months earlier, often before an error or fault occurs. In the future, we will look to replace alternative cooperation channels with Catena-X in order to enable rapid, resource-efficient implementation in the area of quality assurance.

• Zipse: “We are committed to a clear course to achieve the 1.5 degree target”
• 50% reduction in global CO2 use-phase emissions by 2030
• Over 40% reduction in CO2 emissions during life cycle
• Ten million all-electric vehicles within ten years
• Secondary first: Up to 50% use of secondary material planned – initiatives to develop the market are required
• Cooperation with BASF and ALBA on plastic recycling
• Resource scarcity and social responsibility: BMW Group focussed on circular economy for sustainable materials
• RE:BMW – circular economy at the IAA Mobility in Munich

Munich. The BMW Group is increasing the pace of its efforts to combat climate change. Looking ahead to the introduction of the Neue Klasse, the company is further strengthening its self-defined objectives, announced in summer last year, to significantly reduce CO2 emissions, whilst also committing itself to a clear course that supports the 1.5 degree target for the limitation of global warming. The Neue Klasse will also see the BMW Group hugely increase its use of secondary materials with a firm focus on the principles of the circular economy, whilst also promoting better framework conditions for establishing a market for secondary materials.

To achieve a further reduction in CO2 emissions, the focus is on the utilisation phase of vehicles, which account for 70% of the BMW Group’s CO2 footprint. By 2030, the CO2 emissions per vehicle and kilometre driven will be at least halved from 2019 levels. The commitment of all manufacturers when it comes to combatting climate change can best be compared when looking at the entire life cycle of a vehicle, including production and upstream supply chain. Here, the BMW Group is planning a reduction of CO2 emission per vehicle of at least 40%.

“How companies are dealing with CO2 emissions has become a major factor when it comes to judging corporate action. The decisive factor in the fight against global warming is how strongly we can improve the carbon footprint of vehicles over their entire life span. This is why we are setting ourselves transparent and ambitious goals for the substantial reduction of CO2 emissions; these are validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative and will deliver an effective and measurable contribution,” said Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, in Munich on Thursday. “With the Neue Klasse we are significantly sharpening our commitment and also committing ourselves to a clear course for achieving the 1.5 degree target.”

The BMW Group is the first German carmaker to join the Business Ambition for 1.5°C of the Science Based Targets Initiative and is committed to the goal of full climate neutrality over the entire value-added chain by 2050 at the latest. This means that the company is also part of the international Race to Zero Initiative. The company is convinced that this can be achieved using innovation, rather than any overall ban on individual technologies.

The most powerful driver on this path to climate neutrality is electric mobility, with the BMW Group’s Neue Klasse set to provide significant further momentum to the market. During the next ten years or so, the company will be putting around ten million all-electric vehicles on the road. As early as 2030, at least half of global BMW Group sales will be all-electric vehicles, with the MINI brand offering exclusively all-electric vehicles from 2030.

The BMW Group continues to comply with the stringent criteria of the Science Based Targets Initiative, when it comes to measuring the reduction of worldwide CO2 emissions of the company’s vehicles whilst they are being driven on the roads. For example, emissions from the production of fuel or electricity are included in the calculation and consumption is based on the WLTP cycle plus ten percent. With its current product and electrification strategy, the company is on track to meet the EU fleet target for 2030.

Beyond green electricity: Stronger focus on use of resources in future

BMW Group is clear that simply increasing the number of electric vehicles on the road does not automatically lead to climate-friendly mobility. The company understands that it is also crucial to reduce the use of primary material and the related environmentally harmful exploitation of resources and their often CO2-intensive processing – especially when it comes to car manufacturing, one of the most resource-intensive industries.

“2017 was the first time the world’s population consumed more than 100 billion tons of resources within a single year - a trend which we in the automotive industry must also counteract,” Zipse demanded. “This is a strategic issue, concerning not only ecological but also economic sustainability; the current development of commodity prices demonstrates the impact an industry that is dependent on limited resources must expect.”

With the number of battery-powered vehicles growing, there is increasing demand for many commodities such as cobalt, nickel and aluminium, which are required for the vehicles’ high-voltage batteries. However there is great potential for the reuse of materials in the sense of a circular economy and together with specialist partners, the BMW Group has already demonstrated that it’s technological feasible to achieve a recycling efficiency of over 90 percent.

The amount of secondary nickel used for the high-voltage battery in the BMW iX is already as high as 50 percent, with the battery housing containing up to 30 percent secondary aluminium. The BMW Group aims to improve these figures even further for future product generations.

In addition to the increasingly scare availability of primary materials and resulting commodity price increases, there are many sustainability reasons to use more secondary materials and move towards a circular economy.

The supply of secondary materials is considerably less CO2-intensive than is the case with primary materials and can significantly improve the CO2 footprint, especially within the supply chain. In the case of secondary aluminium, the CO2 saving compared with primary material constitutes a factor of approximately 4 to 6, whilst steel and thermoplastics lie between around 2 and 5.

The extraction of resources for primary materials – particularly through mining – has a significant impact on the basic regenerative capacity of ecosystems. This impact can be greatly reduced by increasing the use of secondary materials.

The mining and trading of conflict materials carries the possible risk of associated infringements of environmental and social standards. The BMW Group has established numerous measures to counteract this risk, including membership of the Responsible Minerals Initiative. However, the most efficient strategy for avoiding risks is to minimise the mining of such primary materials.

‘ Secondary First’: Crucial vehicle materials with high secondary content

As part of its holistic approach to sustainability, the BMW Group aims to increase significantly the percentage of secondary materials in its vehicles. On average, current vehicles are manufactured using almost 30 percent recycled and reusable materials. With the ‘ Secondary First’ approach, BMW Group plans to successively raise this figure to 50 percent.

Of course it’s crucial that the quality, safety and reliability of the materials comply with the same high standards as those existing for primary materials – and so it’s essential that the market availability of such high-quality materials increases considerably. In order to achieve this, cross-industry approaches and political initiatives are necessary.

Based on the four principles Re:think, Re:duce, Re:use, Re:cycle, the BMW Group is boosting its activities in the field of circular economy, an area where it’s carrying out pioneering work. For instance, vehicle production now involves the increased separation and recycling of crucial material groups, so these can be reused by the industry within the framework of ‘closed loops’.

Cooperation with BASF and the ALBA Group

Within the supply chain and depending on market availability, secondary materials are increasingly being used in BMW Group vehicles. Moreover, together with its partners, the company is providing important impetus when it comes to developing secondary materials. One example is the company’s pilot project with BASF and the ALBA Group for the increased recycling of plastics used in cars.

The aim of the project is to reduce the use of primary plastics by means of a comprehensive recycling system. To this end, the ALBA Group analyses end-of-life BMW Group vehicles to establish whether a car-to-car reuse of the plastic is possible. In a second step, BASF assesses whether chemical recycling of the pre-sorted waste can be used in order to obtain pyrolysis oil. This can be then used as a basis for new products made of plastic. In the future, a new door trim or other components could be manufactured from a used instrument panel, for example.

Closed loop rather than downcycling: ‘Circular Design’ as the basis of a circular economy

In order to achieve higher recycling rates and whilst also guaranteeing the high quality of secondary materials, the materials must be extracted in their purest form as early as possibly during the recycling process. For example, the onboard wiring systems must be easy to remove, in order to avoid mixing steel with copper from the cable harnesses in the vehicles. If this mixing does take place, the secondary steel loses its essential material properties and therefore no longer meets the high safety requirements of the automotive industry. To support this early and easy extraction of materials, the interior of a car must increasingly be made of monomaterials, so that at the end of the car’s lifecycle, as much as possible can be transferred back into the usable material cycle. Basically, reducing the number of materials can help to improve the quality of recycled materials. Currently, vehicles consist of about 8,000 to 10,000 different materials.

To achieve this, the BMW Group is now focusing on a ‘Circular Design’ concept, which is designed to guarantee the economical dismantling capacity of vehicles. It is essential that disassembly of the vehicle and its individual components is fast and cost-efficient to ensure that prices of secondary materials are competitive. It all starts with the construction of the vehicle, which must be done in such a way that allows materials to be removed at the end of the vehicle’s service life without different types of material being mixed with each other. 

RE:BMW at the IAA Mobility – a visionary outlook on circular economy

The BMW Group is putting circular economy at the centre of its presence at the IAA Mobility 2021 in Munich, where the company will offer a visionary outlook on the potentials of a circular economy and sustainable mobility. The BMW i Vision Circular embodies the company’s ambitious claim to be the most sustainable manufacturer for individual premium mobility.

This visionary vehicle, designed according to the four principles of the circular economy Re:think, Re:duce, Re:use, Re:cycle, shows how individual, sustainable and luxurious urban mobility could look in 2040. The BMW i Vision Circular is manufactured from 100 percent secondary materials or renewable raw materials, and is 100 percent recyclable.

This car demonstrates that climate protection and individual mobility do not necessarily contradict each other. On the contrary, it shows that using new technologies and innovation, the BMW Group can fulfill the planet’s requirements for greater sustainability without customers having to forgo individual mobility.

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Corporate Commmunications

Max-Morten Borgmann, Communications Corporate

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Kai Zöbelein, Communications Sustainability

Telephone: +49 89 382-21170, Kai.Zoebelein@bmwgroup.com

Eckhard Wannieck, Head of Communications Corporate, Finance, Sales

Telephone: +49 89 382-24544, Eckhard.Wannieck@bmwgroup.com

Bernd Eckstein, Head of Communications Purchasing, Supplier Network, Sustainability

Telephone: +49 89 382-59490, Bernd.Eckstein@bmw.de

Internet: https://newsroom.bmwgroup.com/global/en

E-mail: presse@bmwgroup.com

The BMW Group

With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production network comprises 31 production and assembly facilities in 15 countries; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2020, the BMW Group sold over 2.3 million passenger vehicles and more than 169,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the financial year 2020 was € 5.222 billion on revenues amounting to € 98.990 billion. As of 31 December 2020, the BMW Group had a workforce of 120,726 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company set the course for the future at an early stage and consistently makes sustainability and efficient resource management central to its strategic direction, from the supply chain through production to the end of the use phase of all products.

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Munich. The BMW Group is stepping up its activities in the field of sustainability, becoming the first automotive manufacturer worldwide to equip its cars with tyres using certified sustainable natural rubber and rayon, a wood-based material used to strengthen the tyres. The company will source 22-inch tyres in the first instance exclusively from Pirelli and, from August of this year, will use them in the BMW X5 xDrive45e Plug-in-Hybrid (fuel consumption combined: 1.7-1.2 l/100km (WLTP), 2.1-1.6 l/100 km (NEDC); power consumption combined: 27.7-24.3 kWh/100 km (WLTP), 25.2-23.5 kWh/100 km (NEDC); CO2 emissions combined: 39-27 g/km (WLTP), 47-37 g/km (NEDC)). Certification of the rubber plantations and the complex supply chain for natural rubber and rayon takes place in accordance with the strict standards of the independent Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

“As a premium manufacturer, we aspire to lead the way in sustainability and take responsibility,” said Dr Andreas Wendt, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Purchasing and Supplier Network. “We have been committed to improving cultivation of natural rubber and increasing transparency in the supplier network since 2015. The use of tyres made of certified natural rubber is a pioneering achievement for our industry. In this way, we are helping preserve biodiversity and forests to counteract climate change.”

Natural rubber is the basic material for many products we use in our daily lives, such as boots and mattresses. About six million small farmers worldwide are responsible for over 80% of the world’s natural rubber cultivation. In the so-called rubber belt across the tropical regions, they run farms of between one and two hectares in size under a wide variety of different conditions. Agreeing uniform social and environmental growing conditions with these millions of small individual farms is therefore a major challenge.

By far the largest share of natural rubber grown worldwide goes into tyre production. Natural rubber’s high elasticity and sturdiness currently make it irreplaceable for tyre production.

Small label, big impact

As an independent organisation, FSC has developed an internationally recognised and demanding certification standard in recent years that is used worldwide for environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the forests. The organisation, whose well-known logo is already established in the wood and paper industry, also applies this standard to products made of natural rubber.

The new 22-inch P ZERO ∗ tyre has now become the world's first tyre to receive the coveted FSC label. To earn this certification, Pirelli adapted its US plant in Rome, Georgia, to produce tyres using FSC-certified natural rubber and rayon. From there, the tyres are delivered to BMW Group Plant Spartanburg, around 370 km away, and mounted on the BMW X5 Plug-in Hybrid. The star ∗ in the name indicates that the new tyre meets the BMW Group’s strict performance requirements, including particularly low rolling resistance and noise level.

Giovanni Tronchetti Provera, Pirelli’s Senior Vice President for Sustainability and Future Mobility, said: “Before even reaching the road, sustainable mobility begins with raw materials. With the world’s first FSC-certified tyre, Pirelli once again demonstrates its commitment to pursuing increasingly challenging goals in terms of sustainability, a testament to the constant work on innovative materials and increasingly cutting-edge production processes. We continue to invest in sustainable growth for our planet, aware that this is also essential for the future of our businesses.”

Jeremy Harrison, Chief Markets Officer, FSC International, added: “The new FSC-certified Pirelli Tyre is a significant milestone in the drive to deliver economic, social, and environmental benefits across the natural rubber value chain. This is a major step forward in the journey towards a more sustainable natural rubber value chain, thereby helping to mitigate deforestation and support the fight against climate change.”

Long-standing commitment to greater transparency and sustainability in the natural rubber supplier network

The use of the first tyres containing certified sustainable natural rubber and rayon at the BMW Group is the result of the company’s extensive commitment in this area. In 2019, the BMW Group joined forces with well-known tyre manufacturers, NGOs, rubber producers and consumers to create the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR). Small farmers are also represented in this initiative. The GPSNR is committed to improving social and environmental conditions for cultivation of natural rubber and pushing for more sustainability. It also implements measures to stop deforestation and make supply chains more transparent. The GPSNR currently has almost 100 members, who are responsible for about 50 percent of the global natural rubber market.

Through its activities in the GPSNR and close cooperation with its suppliers, the BMW Group is constantly working to further improve sustainability in the natural rubber supply chain. The BMW Group is stepping up these activities and plans to steadily expand its sourcing of tyres made from sustainably grown natural rubber.

The BMW Group has been working with the FSC organisation for many years (Licence code FSC-N002012). The company decided to use FSC-certified wood in the BMW i3, which was first launched onto the market in 2013. The BMW iX for release later this year will also feature FSC-certified wood. In 2017, the BMW Group and FSC advocated for further development of FSC standards for cultivation of natural rubber in Thailand.

Sustainability an integral part of all purchasing activities

Independently of these measures, the BMW Group has contractually obligated all its direct suppliers to respect human rights, comply with expanded environmental and social standards and to introduce management systems to promote occupational safety and protect the environment since 2014. This also includes protecting forests and biodiversity. These requirements must also be contractually passed on to subcontractors. BMW Group Purchasing does not rely on contractual obligations alone for this but is also implementing a large number of additional measures in a transparent process. A risk filter is used to evaluate potential supplier locations worldwide even before the call for bids. The next step is to require possible suppliers to outline their sustainability activities in a detailed questionnaire. External partners also work with internal appraisers to review selected locations. Throughout the contract period, external partners work with internal appraisers to verify compliance with sustainability requirements through questionnaires and audits. In this way, BMW Group Purchasing is able to monitor thousands of locations every year.

Sustainable mobility with the BMW X5 xDrive45e

The BMW Group has completed full lifecycle CO₂ certification for the BMW X5 xDrive45e – from raw material procurement, through the supply chain, production and use phase, all the way to recycling. If charged during the use phase with the average European electricity mix, this gives it an advantage of around 40 percent over the BMW X5 xDrive40i. If charged with green power, the advantage is around 70 percent. The electric range amounts to 77-88 kilometres (WLTP).

Munich/Shenyang. The first fully-electric BMW iX3 has left the production line at the BMW Brilliance Automotive joint venture (BBA) in Shenyang, China. The workforce at the BBA Plant Dadong in Shenyang already celebrated the successful start of production on 29 September 2020.

Franz Decker, head of BBA's Technology and Production division, said during the event: “Today, we begin production of the BMW iX3, the first pure electric model from our core BMW brand. With a production system like this, specialised for high quality, we are able to deliver what customers worldwide demand from premium vehicles.”

Leading production expertise guarantees premium quality

As well as intelligent manufacturing and state-of-the-art technologies, the BBA production facility in Shenyang is also distinguished by its comprehensive quality management system. A special "zero defect concept" ensures that the globally high market requirements for electric mobility are met.

BBA conducts rigorous testing of everything from the battery to the finished car to guarantee the vehicle safety of the BMW iX3. 128 mechanical tests and 994 software functionality tests ensure the high quality of high-voltage batteries throughout the entire lifecycle. 140 functional tests check every aspect of the vehicle during acceleration, in particular road conditions and on rocky roads. As a result, the BMW iX3 is well-suited for all types of roads and meets the high demands of different driving conditions.

BBA produces the fully-electric BMW iX3 on the same line as the BMW X3 with combustion engine to ensure a high level of efficiency and flexibility in production.

During the entire BMW iX3 project, the BMW Group's research and production, purchasing and production divisions worked closely with BBA.