BMW invests over €100 million at Steyr to build Neue Klasse inverter power modules
From summer 2029, BMW's Steyr plant in Austria will build the power modules for the inverters of its Gen6 electric motors used in the Neue Klasse. The investment tops €100 million.
BMW is investing more than €100 million in its Steyr engine plant in Austria for a new line building power module components for inverters, reports "electrive.net". Production starts in summer 2029.
The heart of the inverter, built in-house
Steyr already builds the Gen6 electric motors for Neue Klasse models on two lines; the motors were unveiled in February 2025. Now the plant takes on the power module, which BMW calls the heart of the inverter. Steyr will handle both the upstream supply chain and the assembly of the part.
What the inverter actually does
The inverter converts direct current from the high-voltage battery into the alternating current the motor needs, and manages energy flow between them. The power module holds the semiconductors that switch high currents and voltages very quickly. The more efficient it is, the lower the conversion losses, and the better the range.
BMW is building an assembly line in a cleanroom. To put together the module's ten parts, the group will use large-area soldering and ultrasonic welding for the first time anywhere in BMW Group.
Fewer supplier dependencies
"By producing the power module in-house we go even deeper into electrical engineering and can source components such as semiconductors flexibly on world markets," says Harald Gottsche, managing director of BMW Motoren GmbH. He points to fewer dependencies "in a geopolitically sensitive technology field."
Steyr employs around 4,700 people and still ships more than one million petrol and diesel engines a year. BMW did not say how many new jobs the investment will create.
