On October 15th, BMW Group's sixth-generation power battery began mass production in Shenyang. The total investment in this power battery project is 10 billion yuan, and it adopts a large cylindrical cell design.
Depending on the method of packaging, batteries can be divided into various types such as square, soft-pack, and cylindrical. Currently, square batteries remain the mainstream for power applications. Compared to square batteries, large cylindrical batteries have advantages in terms of energy density and safety, and they also allow for significant cost reductions during manufacturing. However, large cylindrical battery technology has a high barrier to entry. In the past, these batteries faced issues such as positive electrode compression and pressure-induced deformation, which made mass production difficult. With technological advancements and improved performance, large cylindrical batteries have become increasingly popular in recent years.
Tesla is a representative in the development of large cylindrical batteries. In September 2020, Tesla was the first to release the "4680" large cylindrical battery. Under its leadership, large cylindrical batteries have become one of the important technical approaches in the field of electric vehicles, especially for mid-to-high-end models and energy storage. In addition to BMW, Porsche has also confirmed that its next generation of batteries will use large cylindrical cells. There are also reports that LG New Energy is expected to supply large cylindrical batteries to Mercedes-Benz's new generation of electric vehicles starting from 2028.
Large cylindrical batteries are key to BMW's new generation of models being launched in China. BMW has collaborated with CATL and EVE Energy to advance the industrialization of these large cylindrical batteries. Compared to the previous generation of technology, the energy density of the battery cells has increased by more than 20%, while charging speed and range have improved by up to 30%. In August this year, BMW launched its first domestically produced new generation model ix3, and next year's first quarter will see the introduction of the new generation i3. This new model is capable of a range of over 1,000 kilometers.
It is worth noting that this new generation represents the largest investment in BMW's history, encompassing a completely new architecture, a new design language, sixth-generation electric drive technology, as well as large cylindrical battery cells developed in collaboration with partners. BMW has already established four major research and innovation bases and three software companies in China. With the mass production of the sixth-generation power batteries in Shenyang, all core components of BMW's sixth-generation electric drive system will now be manufactured locally in China, further strengthening BMW's localization capabilities in the region.
The Chinese market is one of the most important for German luxury car manufacturers globally. In recent years, some Chinese car brands have accelerated their efforts to capture a share of the luxury car market by leveraging their advantages in intelligence and electrification. In the era of electrification, competition in the luxury car sector is no longer limited to brand prestige; it has turned into a full-chain technological contest involving batteries, electric drives, intelligent cockpits, and autonomous driving. Against the backdrop of a continuous decline in the traditional fuel car market, this new generation of vehicles is seen by BMW as a crucial battle to prove their competitiveness in the era of intelligent electrification.
Ni Kewei ( Milan Nedeljkovi ć), Chairman of BMW Group, stated that the company plans to launch nearly 20 new-generation model vehicles based on advanced technology platforms in the Chinese market by 2027. At the same time, BMW will increase the localization of key models produced in China, aiming to raise the proportion of domestically produced vehicles to over 95% by 2030. Currently, the proportion of BMW models produced in China is around 90%.
