BMW invests around two billion euros as new 3 Series production takes shape in Munich and Dingolfing
BMW is spending around two billion euros to prepare its German plants for the eighth-generation BMW 3 Series, building the all-electric i3 in Munich and combustion and plug-in hybrid versions in Dingolfing.
- around €2 billion
- around €1 billion
- around €1 billion
- about 18 million
What Happened
The BMW Group is investing around two billion euros in vehicle production and battery manufacturing for the eighth generation of the BMW 3 Series, a model that has been the heart of the BMW brand for over 50 years. About 18 million vehicles have been completed since production started in 1975, 15 million of them in Germany, making it the world's most successful premium mid-size automobile. Approximately one billion euros has been spent on further development of the Munich and Dingolfing vehicle plants, and around one billion euros has gone into the new Irlbach-Straßkirchen battery plant in Lower Bavaria.
around €2 billioneuros
Split between the Munich and Dingolfing vehicle plants and the new Irlbach-Straßkirchen battery plant.
The BMW 3 Series debuts and production starts at the parent plant in Munich, continuing there without interruption ever since.
Production of the model series also begins intermittently at the BMW Group Plant Dingolfing.
The Irlbach-Straßkirchen plant starts supplying the Munich plant with battery systems for the all-electric BMW i3.
BMW will have put around 40 new or revised models with technologies of the Neue Klasse on the road.
- Builds the all-electric BMW i3 on sixth-generation high-voltage batteries; the plant, in existence for more than 100 years, has been extensively modernised into a state-of-the-art electric-only location.
- Builds the BMW 3 Series variants with combustion engine and plug-in hybrid drive for customers around the world; a new 3 Series line was added to the body shop and the models join the existing mix in assembly and the paint shop.
- Assembles sixth-generation high-voltage batteries and, from October onwards, provides the Munich plant with battery systems for the all-electric BMW i3.
Germany is the heart of BMW Group production, and the company says the new 3 Series underlines its commitment to regional value creation. Staying true to the "local for local" principle, the same standards and guidelines will apply to production of the BMW i3 and the BMW 3er at the BMW Group Plant San Luis Potosí in Mexico, and to a modified version of the BMW 3 Series for the Chinese market in Shenyang, China. The Irlbach-Straßkirchen plant adds a future industrial location to Lower Bavaria, where the BMW Group has been active for nearly six decades, and the new 3 Series is the next step in a gradual introduction of Neue Klasse technologies into the company's core portfolio.
- More than one million vehicles are produced at BMW Group plants in Germany each year.
- The BMW Group accounts for around a quarter of the cars produced in the country.
- Domestic production volume is more than the BMW Group's vehicle sales total in Europe.
- Around 55 percent of BMW Group employees work in Germany, plus thousands of partner companies along the value chain.
- Around 760 supplier locations supply the Munich and Dingolfing plants, more than 70 percent of them in Europe and more than 30 percent in Germany.
“We are investing in value creation, competitive production and job security in Germany. The new BMW 3 Series is the proof. We are in control of the transformation – from development to industrialisation and high-efficiency production in Munich and Dingolfing. The new high-voltage battery plant in Irlbach-Straßkirchen illustrates how we are bringing key electromobility technology back to our home base.”
Previously from BMW
The all-electric BMW i3 that will be built in Munich has already appeared in public: it debuted as the lead vehicle at the 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon, an event where BMW was title partner for the 15th time, leading the men's elite field among more than 84,000 athletes from 162 nations.
- Ethiopian records at the 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon as the new all-electric i3 debuts as lead vehicle
- BMW puts new all-electric i3 in lead role at 2026 Berlin Marathon as title partner for 15th time
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of BMW's official releases.
Why this matters
The spending keeps BMW's best-known model line and its battery supply in Germany, where the company builds more than a million vehicles a year and around 55 percent of its employees work. It also matters for the roughly 760 supplier locations feeding the Munich and Dingolfing plants, most of them in Europe and more than 30 percent in Germany.
Terms in This Story
- Neue Klasse
- A next-generation family of vehicle technologies from BMW.
- High-voltage battery
- The rechargeable battery pack that stores energy and powers an electric vehicle's drive system.
- Plug-in hybrid
- A vehicle that combines a combustion engine with a battery-powered electric motor that can be recharged from an external power source.
- Local for local
- A production principle of building vehicles close to the markets where they are sold.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.