The company completed the production of fuel engines in its homeland with the last V8, which was assembled at the Munich plant on November 10, 2023. The site will now be completely repurposed for the assembly of electric vehicles. However, this does not mean the end of the internal combustion engine era for BMW: classic engines for Bavarian cars will continue to be produced in Austria and the UK.
The last fuel engine assembled in Munich was the V8. Now 1,200 plant employees who worked on internal combustion engines will be transferred to other positions and factories or trained to work in the production of electric cars. Eight-cylinder internal combustion engines will continue to be produced in Steyr, Austria.
BMW announced this three years ago. At the same time, the brand did not indicate a specific date for the complete abandonment of internal combustion engines, as many European manufacturers did. They intend to switch completely to electric power by 2030, but BMW does not share this approach: according to the Bavarians, by the beginning of the new decade, fuel cars will still account for about half of sales.
Therefore, BMW not only does not intend to say goodbye to internal combustion engines, but will also continue to invest in their development, despite the tightening of environmental standards. However, she does not forget about electrification and tries to keep up with trends. Thus, the site in Munich, which produces the electric i4, will be given over to the next generation BMW (Neue Klasse, or “new class”) in 2025.
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