Official opening of the new BMW factory in Hungary

BMW has officially opened its new vehicle plant in Debrecen, Hungary. The factory, in which BMW has invested around two billion euros, will start producing the iX3 electric SUV in October, the first vehicle based on the ‘New Class’ platform.

Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of the BMW Group, officially opened the new plant in Debrecen on Friday. The Debrecen plant was designed and implemented entirely in accordance with the principles of the BMW iFACTORY. Construction officially began in the summer of 2022. The factory is specially designed for the production of electric vehicles and is arguably the most innovative in the Group. It is also the BMW Group’s first vehicle plant to be powered entirely by renewable energy during normal operation.

“Our new Debrecen plant is a pioneer in our global production network: it is our first fully electric factory that operates entirely without fossil fuels – and the first to produce New Class vehicles. This makes our Debrecen plant a key factor for the future success of the BMW Group,” said CEO Oliver Zipse. “The opening also sends a strong signal: we are expanding our presence on our continent and reaffirming our commitment to Europe as a strong and competitive industrial location.”

As reported, series production of the new BMW iX3 is scheduled to begin in Debrecen at the end of October. The vehicle will offer a range of up to 805 kilometres according to WLTP and will be able to recharge enough energy for 372 kilometres in just ten minutes at 800-volt fast-charging stations.

In addition to CEO Oliver Zipse, high-ranking representatives of Hungarian politics also attended the grand opening, including László Papp, Mayor of Debrecen, and the controversial Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Orbán is not quoted in BMW’s official press release, but he is quoted by Hungarian media. In his speech at the factory opening, he recalled, among other things, an agreement on cooperation between the German and Hungarian automotive industries, which he had concluded in 1998 with then-Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Orbán naturally praised BMW’s investment in Hungary, spoke highly of BMW vehicles and expressed his hope that more and more Hungarian families would be able to afford a BMW in the future. However, this will not be easy, as the Hungarian minimum wage is currently just over €700 per month and the average wage is around €1,600; neither of which is likely to be enough for a new BMW.

The inauguration of the new plant also looked back on the site’s beginnings: the decision to make one of Hungary’s largest greenfield investments was made in 2018. The site is located in eastern Hungary, where the Chinese group CATL is currently building a large battery factory in the same city.

At BMW itself, the battery systems are assembled directly on site, which enables short transport routes in accordance with the ‘local for local’ principle. The Debrecen plant will be the first of five plants worldwide to start assembling 6th generation high-voltage batteries.

bmwgroup.com (in Hungarian), ungarnheute.hu (Orbán)

This article was first published by Florian Treiß for electrive’s German edition