BMW Group engine plant gears up for new BMW i8 Roadster

Hams Hall. Engines from BMW Group’s production plant, near Birmingham, are to power the company’s latest electrified model – the new BMW i8 Roadster, now on sale in the UK.

The Midlands-based plant has been producing engines for the BMW i8 Coupe - the world’s best-selling hybrid sports car - since it first hit the roads in 2014. Now the plant will supply engines for the new BMW i8 Roadster, as well as a new version of the i8 Coupe.

Exclusively produced at the Hams Hall plant, the three-cylinder petrol engine with BMW TwinPower Turbo technology – a winner of the International Engine of the Year Award - is combined with a hybrid electric motor to form the i8’s multi award-winning advanced plug-in hybrid drive system. The drive duo melds sports car performance qualities with the sort of fuel economy and emissions usually associated with compact models.

“It’s fantastic that our plant is able to play a part in BMW Group’s electrified strategy,” said plant director, Bernd Gress. “We are proud to have already contributed to the highly successful BMW i8 Coupe, as well as supplying engines for two other BMW and MINI hybrid models. Now, we look forward to being a part of the BMW i8 Roadster story, too.”

The turbocharged three-cylinder unit, featuring direct injection and VALVETRONIC variable valve timing, extracts a maximum output of 170 kW/231 hp from its displacement of just 1.5 litres, plus peak torque of 320 Nm (236 lb-ft). With the electric motor and engine acting in unison, the system output is 275 kW/374 hp. The new BMW i8 Coupe accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.4 seconds, while the new BMW i8 Roadster takes a tick longer with a time of 4.6 seconds.

Hand-built by a small team of the plant’s top engine technicians, the combustion engines for the i8 are assembled on a dedicated, unique facility, recently expanded and enhanced to increase production capability for further high-spec engines.

Overall, the Hams Hall plant is going from strength-to-strength. Production of engines for a number of BMW and MINI models is expected to peak over 350,000 units, with the machining of key engine components likely to top 1.4 million parts this year.

Ends

Notes to Editors:

• The Hams Hall plant has a successful history manufacturing small, fuel-efficient, low emission petrol engines since 2001.
• The plant has benefited from a series of investments of several-hundred million-pounds to ensure the site remains state-of-the-art. 
• Over 4.5 million engines have been produced at Plant Hams Hall since opening in 2001.
• Engines produced at the plant are supplied for a number of BMW and MINI models, including some of the latest hybrid cars.
• Key engine components – crankshafts, cylinder blocks and cylinder heads - are also machined at the plant for local engine production as well as supply to other BMW Group engine plants across the world.
• The plant directly supports the jobs of more than 1,000 local people.
• Production at the plant accounted for just over 11 per cent of UK engine production in 2017.

  The BMW Group production network

Strong customer demand and the launch of new models resulted in very high capacity utilisation for the BMW Group’s production network in 2017. With 2,505,741 vehicles produced for the BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands, production volumes reached a new all-time high. This figure included 2,123,947 BMW, 378,486 MINI and 3,308 Rolls-Royce units. The company’s German plants, which produced more than one million vehicles, are responsible for roughly half of production volumes.

With its unparalleled flexibility, the leading-edge production system is in excellent shape for the future. Based on Strategy NUMBER ONE > NEXT, it is characterised by a high level of efficiency and robust processes. The BMW Group’s production expertise represents a decisive competitive advantage and contributes to the profitability of the company and its sustainable success.

Quality and speed of reaction are key factors in the BMW production system, as well as flexibility. Digitalisation, standardised modular concepts and intelligent composite construction testify to the high level of expertise within the production network. At the same time, the production system offers a very high level of customisation and allows customer specifications to be modified up until six days before delivery.

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For further information, please contact:

Kate Bird, Communications, BMW Plant Hams Hall
Telephone: (+44) (0)1675 460 742
Mobile: (+44) (0)7815 375843
E-mail: kate.bird@bmwgroup.com

Manuel Sattig, Head of Communications, Oxford, Swindon, Hams Hall
Mobile: (+44) (0)7815 371247
E-mail: Manuel.Sattig@bmwgroup.com