Billion-euro project

E-engines are now also rolling off the production line at BMW Steyr

Even the power electronics for the drives are manufactured at the plant.

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

More than 1.2 million diesel and petrol engines were produced at the BMW plant in Steyr last year - since Wednesday, the German premium vehicle manufacturer's plant has also officially been powered by electricity. Pre-series production of e-drives has begun. From 2028, it is expected to produce 600,000 units per year, initially 25 per week.

"One, two, three," counted press spokesman Philipp Käufer, then the hands of BMW Steyr CEO Klaus von Moltke, Governor Thomas Stelzer and Mayor Markus Vogl went down to press the buzzer, which had previously even been guarded by an employee so as not to be triggered prematurely...

We are now producing 25 e-drives per week - purely for internal BMW purposes. These will then run on test benches in Munich, but will also be installed in vehicles and tested on test and race tracks as well as in road traffic.

Helmut Hochsteiner, Leiter der E-Motorenproduktion bei BMW Steyr

9.37 a.m. was the exact time on Wednesday when a new era officially dawned at the BMW Group's largest engine plant: pre-series production of the Gen6 e-engines has started. "The first drives will be delivered to Munich next week," revealed Helmut Hochsteiner, who is in charge of e-motor production in Steyr.

Plant Manager Klaus von Moltke (center) with Mayor Markus Vogl and Governor Thomas Stelzer pressing the buzzer on Wednesday morning.

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

There is still a lot to learn before series production starts in the fall of 2025 - the engines, which will then be delivered to the vehicle plant in Debrecen/Hungary in the first stage, are now undergoing a twelve-month intensive test phase.

"A day steeped in history"

With the official start of pre-series production of the e-drives, the BMW plant in Steyr took a significant step towards the future. Mayor Markus Vogl and Governor Thomas Stelzer enthused about a "historic day" on September 4. Full capacity utilization in e-drive production is expected to be reached in 2028. This is 600,000 units per year. At full capacity, 2,000 employees will be employed solely for the electric motor, which would be around half of the current workforce of 4,500.

One billion euros by 2030
Around one billion euros will be invested in the development of e-drive production at the BMW plant by 2030: Around 750 million of this will go into production, the rest into development, calculated von Moltke, who is currently head of 4500 employees in Upper Austria.

For the time being, 25 e-drives will be produced per week in Steyr - these are currently only being tested internally.

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

Will the e-drives become a job engine? "First of all, our premise is that we have continuous employment," he emphasizes.

Application for hydrogen project
Will Steyr also be involved in alternative drive systems in the future? "We don't yet have a specific order to make a hydrogen fuel cell. But we are applying for it," says von Moltke. Postscript: "Our approach is technology openness. It gives us a solid foundation on which to stand."