MUNICH: From 2027, BMW Group Plant Munich will exclusively produce all‑electric vehicles.
Plant Munich is investing around 650 million euros (RM3.23bil) in its transformation into a fully electric production site.
“We have considerably reduced production costs over recent years. With the start of production of the BMW i3, we will reduce overall production costs at the Munich plant by a further 10 per cent, bringing them below the level of the current vehicle generation,” says BMW Group Plant Munich head Peter Weber.
Meanwhile, series production of the i3, the second model in the Neue Klasse range, will get underway in August.
Plant Munich has undergone a fundamental process of redevelopment for the Neue Klasse – with production of up to 1,000 vehicles a day continuing during this period.
A new body shop and state-of-the-art vehicle assembly including new logistics areas were set up on an area spanning around a third of the plant’s footprint.
Weber highlights what the workforce has achieved, “The people at the factory played an essential role in making this transformation a success. With their high level of expertise, enthusiasm and tremendous dedication, our employees have shown that world-class industrial production is possible even under the toughest conditions."
"The BMW i3 is just the beginning – several Neue Klasse models will be manufactured in Munich in the future, including the BMW i3 Touring.”
In the press shop, steel and aluminium boards are turned into tens of thousands of components on highly automated press lines daily.
An AI-assisted camera system supports quality control before an underground transport system moves the parts to the body shop.
Plant Munich has set up a new body shop for the Neue Klasse featuring systems planned and realised using a virtual twin.
A total of 800 new industrial robots take care of the joining processes here; decreasing the number of joining processes to five reduces process complexity.
With an automation rate of around 98 per cent, robots perform the majority of standardised processes.
Automated surface inspection (ASI) assists with quality assurance.
In the paint shop at Plant Munich, digital and AI-assisted systems control central quality processes.
Automated surface inspection (ASI) uses cameras and artificial intelligence to detect even the most minor deviations on the surface and documents them digitally.
Automated surface processing (ASP) works on the variations detected directly during the running process.
To purify the exhaust air, the paint shop uses the energy-efficient, electrically powered eRTO process. T
What once was the home of engine manufacturing at BMW Group Plant Munich has become a new assembly area for the Neue Klasse.
During assembly already, the BMW i3 digitally transmits the status of up to 20,000 features to the production system.
The logistics department at the Munich plant moves around 2.5 million parts every day; in future around 70 per cent of these parts will be delivered directly to the assembly workstations.
This will reduce internal transport distances, save space and accelerate supply to the production lines.
Automated supply systems, smart transport robots and driverless transport systems will handle around 60 per cent of supply tasks in the future.
A digital logistics control station manages all processes centrally, ensuring transparency and data-driven optimisation.
Unique to Plant Munich is the in-house seat manufacturing facility.
It is a “plant inside a plant” and takes on a central role for quality assurance and expert evaluation within the production network.
The seats for all versions of the models produced in Munich are manufactured here and delivered to vehicle assembly directly and “just in sequence”.
The in‑house seat manufacturing facility is regarded as the benchmark for quality assurance across the BMW Group.
Modern, largely automated processes ensure seamless quality control.
This is complemented by fully automated end-of-line checks, including for safety-relevant components.
