The final German-made BMW ICE rolled off the production line on the 10th of November 2023.
In its progression towards its eventual electrified future, BMW has recently (and rather quietly) announced that it has since made its final internal combustion engine (ICE) at its main plant in Munich. A move that was expected since November 2020, the last German-made BMW engine was to be a V8 that rolled off the production line on the 10th of November 2023.
Though all is not actually lost for those who want to power their Ultimate Driving Machines on jungle juice, as BMW has moved its engine production facility to outside of Germany instead. Production of its eight- and twelve-cylinders for instance has since been shifted from Munich to Hams Hall in the UK, with its smaller engines now to be manufactured in Steyr, Austria.
In fact, said Austrian site will actually play home to a new dedicated V8 production plant for the German automaker. And with BMW being one of the few in the business to not actually set a definite end date on its ICE yet, it is likely for there to still be the opportunity to buy a brand-new fuel-drinking Ultimate Driving Machine for quite some years to come.
The Munich site where this last German-made V8 was produced will nevertheless now serve as the new home of future Neue Klasse-based EVs, which expands on its current role of handling production of its electric i4 since October 2021. BMW claims it has invested around €400 million (RM 2 billion) in converting the existing engine assembly line for vehicle construction, with the German automaker also announcing for the 1,200 employees currently employed at the plant to now be retrained and deployed in other roles or at its different facilities.
If the internet rumours are to be true too, the specific EVs manufactured in Munich will upcoming electric 3-Series and the second iteration of the i4. Various other all-electric BMWs currently produced in Germany include the iX, i5, and i7 built in Dingolfing and the iX1 and iX2 built in Regensburg.
