Among the electric models that are highly anticipated in the next year – and there are a few of them - you can safely include the BMW i4 on the list. The electric shift is underway at BMW and many fans of the brand are impatient for the first models of the new generation of EVs to appear at dealers.
Considering the importance of the i4 sedan within the lineup, many will be watching closely how the public responds to it. Especially, the company’s long-earned reputation for building cars that deliver driving pleasure means the expectations are high for the i4.
We won't have to wait too long to find out how the model fares in the real world: production of the vehicle has just begun. In fact, the first production-version BMW i4 has just left the automaker’s 100-year-old Munich plant.
“For the plant and team, the launch of the BMW i4 is a milestone on the road to electric mobility. By 2023 more than half of all vehicles from our Munich facility will have an electrified drive. The majority will be fully electric. So Munich goes fully electric.”
- Milan Nedeljković, BMW AG Board Member for Production
In addition to the BMW i4, the Munich plant also produces the BMW 3 Series (sedan and wagon), M3 and 4 Series Gran Coupe.
While 90 percent of the existing systems in the Munich facility can still be used to put together the new model, additional machinery and techniques were brought in to integrate the manufacturing of the i4's high-voltage battery. According to the statement released by BMW, this required an investment of 200 million Euros.
BMW also announced that assembly of its 4-cylinder engine block will be moved to Hams Hall, UK and Steyr, Austria by the end of the year. The relocation of all engine production from Munich will be completed by 2024.
