BMW Group Plant Regensburg Gears Up with New "Battery Wedding" for the Neue Klasse Ramp-Up.

While the BMW X1 and X2 usually roll off the line in Regensburg at a steady clip, production came to a three-week halt from August 8 to 30, 2026 — but this was no ordinary pause. During that time, the BMW Group Plant Regensburg carried out several hundred structural and conversion measures to prepare for the launch of the Neue Klasse. Since the start of this week, regular production of the X1 and X2 has resumed as scheduled — with one important new facility now in place.

What Is the "Battery Wedding"?

At the heart of the conversion is the new Vormontage Energiemodule (VEM), or energy module pre-assembly line. In this facility, the high-voltage battery and the body will be joined together — a production step experts refer to as the "battery wedding," in reference to the classic "wedding" in vehicle assembly. In that traditional step, the drivetrain and body are brought together; in the battery wedding, the energy module and vehicle body are instead fused into a single, fixed unit.

Here's how the process works in practice: a newly built high-bay warehouse in an adjacent building holds energy modules for a full day's production. From there, high-voltage batteries travel fully automatically via a conveyor bridge, arriving at the new VEM line in the right sequence and at the right time. A gripper portal removes the energy modules from their transport containers and places them on the VEM line. Robots then bolt the vehicle body to the energy module, before the vehicles rejoin the regular assembly flow. For Neue Klasse models, this connection will in future take place right at the start of vehicle assembly.

A Conversion on a Broad Front

The VEM is only the most visible part of a far more extensive conversion program. During the three-week break, measures were implemented across the press shop, body shop, paint shop, vehicle assembly, and logistics — with more than 1,000 employees from partner companies on site to carry them out. The changes to vehicle assembly were particularly extensive: every single production system received an update, ensuring that all BMW models and drivetrain types — including the Neue Klasse — can continue to be built flexibly on the same lines going forward.

David Heiduk, Head of Planning for the BMW Group Plants Regensburg and Oxford as well as Compact Class Technology Projects, sums it up: "We're building today the assembly lines for tomorrow's vehicles. With this conversion, we're creating the conditions for the Neue Klasse — and with it, the mobility of the future."

Regensburg Sets the Pace

The BMW Group Plant Regensburg has been in operation for more than four decades, with series production starting in 1986 with the 3 Series (E30). Today, more than 1,400 vehicles of the X1 and X2 models roll off the line there daily — all on a single production line that handles combustion, plug-in hybrid, and fully electric vehicles alike. In 2025, the plant was named "Factory of the Year" in the "Outstanding Series Production" category.

With the VEM conversion, another important building block is now in place: in the second half of this decade, production of the Neue Klasse will start in Regensburg — and with it, the "battery wedding" becomes a permanent part of everyday life on the assembly line.

Quelle: BMW Group Presse-Information, 04. September 2026

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