Disruption in Dingolfing. The network of knowledge and ma...

Disruption in Dingolfing. The network of knowledge and machinery that has developed and built the world-class internal-combustion engines of BMW over the past three-quarters of a century has been a tremendously valuable economic asset. But its societal value will be zero in a very few short years, if it is not already zero:

Elisabeth Behrmann: Twilight of Combustion Engine Comes for Germany: "The completed combustion engine fitted into a BMW M5 is a 1,200-piece puzzle that weighs more than 181 kg (400 pounds). There are about 150 moving parts whose interlocking precision can catapult a six-figure sports car to 97 kph (60 mph) in 3.3 seconds. The engine... has come together from a web of hundreds of suppliers and many, many hands. The electric-vehicle motor... is... light enough for a single person to lift... just two dozen parts... lacking an exhaust, transmission, or fuel tank. The battery cells themselves are mostly an industrial commodity.... No one brags about the unique power of BMW's electric drivetrain. Yet, this slight battery-driven motor can outgun the combustion engine in BMW's fastest performance car from a standstill at a traffic light. The fact that both combustion engines and electric motors find themselves inside the same 18,000-person complex in Dingolfing, BMW's largest in Europe, makes it a microcosm of a shift overtaking automakers the world over...

#noted

http://fold.cm