The BMW Group through the opening of Plant Lydia in Shenyang has expanded its production footprint in China. This is the latest example of the BMW iFACTORY strategy. The German automobile manufacturer has set new standards in future-oriented vehicle manufacturing in the era of the intelligent and electric auto industry.
Plant Lydia breaks leads the BMW Group with its pioneering digitalization applications. It reaffirms the Group’s leadership in global automotive manufacturing.
Milan Nedelijkovic, BMW AG Board Member for Production, highlighted that the BMW iFACTORY reflects the company as a role model for the automotive industry. He said Plant Lydia is digitally empowered and geared towards e-mobility. Nedelijkovic pointed out that the flexibility of their production sets the benchmark in competition by responding to customers’ demands.
Jochen Goller, President and CEO of the BMW Group Region China, said their production expansion in China shows that the company is preparing for further growth. BMW Group is confident in China’s long-term perspectives. Goller outlined that they are stepping up their e-mobility efforts. The BMW Group is aiming for more than a quarter of its sales in China to be all-electric by 2025. With Plant Lydia, the company is prepared to serve the growing market demand for e-mobility in China.
Franz Decker, President and CEO of BMW Brilliance Automotive, believes Plant Lydia is an important milestone in the company’s successful development in Shenyang over nearly 20 years. He shared that they had a fair share of challenges but managed to complete Plant Lydia on schedule. Decker believes this is because the BMW Group has a strong team in China and an excellent global collaboration.
Plant Lydia is fully capable of producing up to 100% of electric vehicles (EVs). With neighboring plants in Tiexi and Dadong, Lydia will accelerate the production of BMW electrified cars in China. Moreover, Plant Lydia is the biggest single investment project, worth RMB 15 billion, in the history of BMW Group in China. Its located in Shenyang’s Tiexi District. Plant Lydia is equipped with four production processes – press; body shop; paint shop; and assembly. It increases annual production capacity to 830,000 units at Shenyang.
The newest plant is fully flexible to produce up to 100% EVs. It should be noted that the production of the all-new BMW i3, which is the company’s first all-electric mid-size sports sedan for the Chinese market, started at Plant Lydia in May. It sets the standard for production that is LEAN, GREEN, and DIGITAL.
