Assembly Lines
BMW to Start Mass-Production of Fuel Cell Systems
MUNICH—The third generation of the BMW Group’s hydrogen drive system will be manufactured in Steyr starting in 2028; and the company’s competence centers in Munich and Steyr are already building the first prototypes.
“The launch of the first-ever fuel cell production model from BMW in 2028 will add another exceptionally efficient high-performance drive system with zero emissions to our technology-open product portfolio,” says Joachim Post, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Development.
The first generation of the fuel cell drive system was supplied entirely by the Toyota Motor Corporation and was fitted in the BMW 535iA back in 2014. The second generation made its debut in the current BMW iX5 Hydrogen pilot fleet. This time, BMW developed the overall fuel cell system itself, while the individual fuel cells came from Toyota.
For the new generation, the BMW Group and the Toyota Motor Corporation will jointly develop the powertrain system for passenger vehicles, with the core fuel cell technology creating synergies for both commercial and passenger vehicle applications. This close collaboration enables both companies to leverage synergies in development and procurement while creating brand-specific models.
The space taken up by the fuel cell system has been reduced by around 25%. The third generation can be seamlessly integrated into future vehicle architectures.
The system is set to be substantially more efficient than its predecessor.
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