BMW has started using two fully electric trucks to move battery cells and modules to its high-voltage battery production halls at the Leipzig plant in Germany from its nearby warehouse in BMW Allee. Rudolph Logistik Gruppe is providing the inbound transport service.
Using the etrucks on the 8km return route will save around 9 tonnes of CO2 a year compared to the existing diesel trucks, according to BMW. The etrucks will make 12 round trips a day.
BMW said the etrucks are charged during the drivers’ breaks and the 340 kWh batteries take around 1.5 hours to recharge to 80%.
The etrucks, which are made by Designwerk, are powered by lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery systems. According Designwerk, the four electric drives in each truck deliver 610 hp and are three times more efficient than their diesel counterparts when out on the road.
The use of the etrucks for inbound logistics is one measure BMW Group is using as part of its Green Transport Logistics Project, which aims to reduce transport emissions from transportation across its global production and sales network. Along with battery-electric trucks, BMW isusing biofuels such as HVO100, made from residues and waste. BMW is also trialling bio-LNG powered trucks for deliveries in Germany. The company is also researching the use of hydrogen-fuel trucks such as H2Haul and HyCET.
In a previous interview with Automotive Logistics, BMW’s Maike Rotmann, head of distribution systems and sustainability, and Wolfgang Rudorfer, head of transport planning and steering, outlined what the carmaker was doing to make its inbound logistics more sustainable. That includes the use of bio-LNG trucks in the UK, and LNG trucks between Bavaria, Leipzig and Austria. Wolfgang Rudorfer also pointed to the use of trucks running on hydrogenated vehicle oil from cooking along with hydrogen.
In addition, in our summer 2024 edition of Automotive Logistics magazine, Eugen Schantini, head of global vehicle distribution at BMW Group, and Thomas Wiech, head of transport planning and steering for vehicle distribution, talked about the efforts the company is making on sustainable outbound logistics.
Leipzig battery investment
BMW Leipzig is making battery powerpacks for the Mini Countryman Electric, which has been made there since March this year. The Leipzig plant also makes packs and modules for the wider BMW production network, including for the fully electric BMW iX1, iX2, i4, i5 and iX. The plant makes 300,000 high-voltage batteries a year in the halls previously used to make the BMW i3 and BMW i8. BMW has so far invested €900m in e-component production, including the conversion of the halls and the addition of new ones, adding up to 150,000 sq.m for battery production. The Leipzig plant has been manufacturing e-components for the production network since 2021 and since early 2024 it has been running the entire high-voltage battery production process for the current, fifth generation.
Leipzig plant director Petra Peterhänsel said the introduction of the two etrucks represented another milestone on BMW’s journey toward a cleaner supply chain: “We are delighted to be undertaking this journey with our longstanding logistics partner, the Rudolph Logisitik Gruppe. The transition to electromobility and sustainable production affects not only our BMW and MINI cars but our production methods and supply chains as well.”
BMW Group said that by 2030 it aims to reduce CO2 emissions across the vehicle lifecycle by 40%, compared with 2019.
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