BMW Kicks Off Gen-6 High-Voltage Battery Production in Shenyang

BMW has begun series production of its sixth-generation high-voltage batteries at its Shenyang site in northeast China, a step that puts the heart of the company’s next electric drive system on Chinese soil. The batteries are initially destined for the Neue Klasse models built and sold locally — the long-wheelbase iX3 SUV and the i3 50L sedan.

• Start date and first deliveries: Production kicked off on 15 October, with customer deliveries of the China-only long-wheelbase iX3 expected to begin in November. The iX3 has been open for pre-orders since 21 August.
• Investment and timeline: The Liaoning battery project represents roughly ten billion yuan — about 1.5 billion US dollars — with construction having started in May 2023.
• Third node in a global network: Shenyang follows Debrecen in Hungary and Irxleben (referred to in the source as Ilbach-Straßkirchen) in Germany as the third location in BMW’s worldwide Gen-6 battery map.
• The technology stack: Large-format cylindrical cells, an 800-volt architecture and sixth-generation electric drive hardware. Trial production of the Energy Master — the central control unit for the Gen-6 packs, with in-house developed hardware and software — began in Shenyang in late September.
• Localized core components: With the production start, BMW says all three core elements of the drive system are now manufactured in China.

Why It Matters

Bringing battery assembly in-house at the vehicle plant is central to BMW’s Neue Klasse strategy, which leans on cylindrical cells and 800-volt charging to cut costs and charging times at once. Doing so in China, the world’s most competitive EV market, shortens the supply chain for locally sold cars and shields the company from import duties and logistics risk.

The numbers attached to the launch underline the ambition. BMW reported a run of 1,213 kilometers without recharging for the i3 50L, a test car fitted with a 113.4 kWh pack that finished with one percent of charge remaining. Such figures are test-cycle results rather than everyday expectations, but they signal how much range the combination of large cylindrical cells and an 800-volt system can unlock.

Shenyang now also stands as a statement of intent: BMW’s Chinese operations are not merely assembling cars for local buyers but producing the drivetrain technology that will define its next model generation worldwide.