BMW’s new 530e plug-in hybrid will be produced at Magna’s contract manufacturing plant in Graz, Austria, starting in summer 2017. As a contract manufacturing partner for two premium electrified vehicles – the BMW 530e and the previously awarded Jaguar I-PACE – Magna’s Graz facility is growing by making small volume luxury hybrids
Production of the new BMW 5 Series marks the successful continuation of a partnership between the BMW Group and Magna that started over 15 years ago. The first BMW produced in Graz, an X3 SUV, rolled off the assembly line in Graz in 2003.
“We are excited to be adding another electrified vehicle architecture to our line-up,” said Guenther Apfalter, President Magna Steyr. “Vehicle electrification is a growing trend in the industry and, with our complete vehicle know-how, we are in a great position to help our customers meet the demands.”
Magna started the split production on the BMW 5 Series sedan in March of this year and will commence production of the Jaguar I-Pace, their first electric car, in the first quarter of 2018. This year the company celebrates a milestone of more than three million vehicles produced in total for various automakers.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
