How BMW is using NVIDIA Omniverse to virtually produce its next-gen EVs
BMW is already manufacturing its next-generation all-electric Neue Klasse (new class) vehicles two years ahead of the launch of series production – virtually at least. Using NVIDIA’s advanced virtual computing platform, BMW revealed this week it has opened the world’s first entirely virtual factor in the NVIDIA Omniverse to produce its Neue Klasse EVs.
BMW uses NVIDIA Omniverse to begin next-gen EV rollout
The NVIDIA omniverse platform is essentially the closest thing to the real world, using artificial intelligence to allow you to create and operate applications in the metaverse (virtually).
NVIDIA’s game-changing technology allows you to create physically accurate, large-scale demonstrations bringing concepts to life in a new way, or a digital twin as it’s often called.
BMW announced at GTC it’s expanding the use of the NVIDIA Omniverse to revamp its production network, including its planned EV plant in Debrecen, Hungary.
Although construction has just begun, and the new facility isn’t expected to produce vehicles until 2025, BMW is already manufacturing cars at the plant in the metaverse. The ability to see virtually in real-time how the facility will operate will ensure a smooth and efficient opening process.
Milan Nedeljković, head of production at BMW, explains:
With Nvidia and AI we set up new factories faster and produce more efficiently than ever. This results in significant savings for us.
Nedeljković says that it all starts with planning, adding that virtualization and AI are accelerating and refining how BMW plans. The platform allows BMW’s teams from around the world to work together in real-time, resulting in faster decision-making and efficiency.
BMW and NVIDIA held a factory demo to showcase the power and efficiency of planning AI-based EV facilities using the Omniverse platform. Check it out below.
In the joint demo, BMW’s global planning team joins Nedeljković and NVIDIA CEO and founder Jensen Huang on a virtual planning session for the factory’s new body shop.
After learning a new production concept that needed changes (a robot placement), the team collaborates on a solution, visualizing the process in real time as they go.
When the team found the perfect spot for the robot, it could run a simulation, showing the component is in its place and operational.
The automaker’s virtual planning adds to its “masterplan for the automotive production of tomorrow,” dubbed the BMW iFACTORY. BMW introduced the production concept last year to focus on digitalization alongside green and resource-saving methods.
BMW’s Hungary plant is expected to open in 2025, where it will produce the company’s first next-gen Neue Klasse EVs as the automaker kicks off a new era.
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Hyundai is about to launch a new electric SUV in China. With its big debut coming up, Hyundai just dropped a sneak peek, and it looks like it could be the IONIQ 4. Check it out for yourself in the video below.
Is Hyundai teasing the IONIQ 4?
We caught our first glimpse of the new EV model last month after Beijing Hyundai released a few official “spy” photos.
Despite the camouflage, you can see a few design elements, like a light bar across the front, slim LED headlights, and a closed-off grille. At first, it almost looks like a smaller version of the IONIQ 9, Hyundai’s first three-row electric SUV, but with a much sportier, shaped profile.
Beijing Hyundai released a new teaser for the upcoming electric SUV this week. The video shows “a wave of high-end operations” as the vehicle dances across the snow.
The video highlights features like real-time torque control, high-speed cornering, and the SUV’s impressive body control while driving around cones.
Hyundai’s new electric SUV is being called “OE” internally, according to The Korean Car Blog, suggesting it could be an IONIQ model.
All other Hyundai IONIQ EV models were also codenamed with an “E” internally, which is raising speculation that this could be the IONIQ 4.
Like most global OEMs, Hyundai is fighting to compete in an intense Chinese EV market, which is dominated by domestic automakers like BYD.
Hyundai opened its first overseas R&D center last year in China to spearhead its comeback. It will work with local suppliers and tech companies to develop EVs designed for Chinese buyers. The new electric SUV is expected to launch in China later this year, followed by three new energy vehicles, including EVs and EREVs.
Beijing Hyundai will release more information on April 16, with the electric SUV set to “challenge the limit of driving performance.”
What do you think of Hyundai’s new electric SUV? Is this the IONIQ 4? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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Charge point provider char.gy has secured a £130 million contract to install 6,000 curbside EV chargers for Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) – the UK’s largest installation of its kind.
London-based char.gy has also been awarded a 15-year contract to operate and maintain the charging network.
Installing Level 2 chargers curbside, where most drivers in the UK park, will enable more people to take advantage of cheaper charging rates while juicing up their EVs overnight. (charg.gy’s pay as you go night tariff, between midnight and 7 am, is £0.39/kWh, compared to its £0.59/kWh day tariff.)
John Lewis, chief executive of char.gy, said the project is “a huge moment for the UK and its EV ambitions. This partnership alone will empower thousands of residents to confidently make the switch to electric vehicles, knowing they have easy access to chargers.”
Brighton and Hove City Council is among the first to tap into the government’s Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund, designed to help English local authorities roll out charging solutions for residents without off-street parking. Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood said making EV charging as accessible as possible is “crucial to making the switch to electric a success.”
The UK now has over 75,000 public EV chargers, according to the Department for Transport—and it looks like the country’s on pace to hit its 2030 target. Back in December, the National Audit Office said the rollout is “on track” to meet the DfT’s estimate that at least 300,000 chargers will be needed by the end of the decade.
Read more: Meet the UK’s largest solar + storage EV charging ‘Superhub’
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