BMW Group launched high-voltage battery module and b pack production in Thailand, in partnership with the DRÄXLMAIER Group, a partner of BMW Group since 1966 and one of its long-term automotive suppliers.
The high-voltage battery assembly plant is assembling both battery modules and the battery itself.
To ensure that the production process meets the BMW Group’s exceptional standards of quality, experts from BMW Group Munich were involved in the process at the new DRÄXLMAIER Group facility throughout the process in order to set up a solid foundation for the future.
The high-voltage battery is a central element of partially and fully electrified vehicles and a highly sophisticated component that requires specialized skills to produce.
Thanks to the advanced training and qualification programs initiated in September 2018, the staff from the DRÄXLMAIER Group who have participated in the battery production training program at BMW Group Plant Dingolfing – the BMW Group Competence Center for e-drive production – and the BMW Group pilot plant for e-drivetrains in Munich, are now ready for the high-tech assembly work to produce the latest generation (Gen4) of the BMW Group high-voltage batteries. This involves the use of cutting-edge production technologies onsite including laser welding, plasma activation, robotics, gluing, automated optical and electrical inline quality inspection along with end-of-line testing. The training is also focused on supporting a highly automated process, which is an important part of battery module production, as well as comprehensive quality assurance, product methodology and technology, rework, and analysis.
Equipped with a strong grasp of battery production skills, the staff will work on battery cells provided by a supplier in the Asian region along with other imported parts – such as aluminum housing, electronics, and cables – to roll out high-voltage batteries that meet BMW Group’s world-class standard and are in full compliance with Thailand’s local content requirement regulation.
Final batteries will then be transported to Plant Rayong for the production of the entire range of BMW 5 Series Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles, which has been in operation since July 2019. Since 2017, BMW Group Manufacturing Thailand has assembled four BMW plug-in hybdrids at Amata City Industrial Estate, Rayong province.
