In February, I had the uncommon alternative to witness firsthand one of the formidable transformations in BMW’s historical past. Hidden behind the model’s iconic headquarters and museum, the Munich plant is present process a large modernization effort that can utterly reshape how BMW builds vehicles within the coronary heart of its hometown. This manufacturing facility—certainly one of BMW’s longest-running manufacturing websites—has been in operation since 1922, and by 2027, it should produce solely totally electrical autos, making it one of many firm’s first vegetation devoted fully to Neue Klasse manufacturing.
Not like BMW’s brand-new manufacturing facility in Debrecen, Hungary, which was designed from the bottom up for the Neue Klasse EV platform, the Munich facility have to be rebuilt from inside, whereas sustaining full-scale manufacturing. The problem is big: BMW is tearing down and rebuilding one-third of all the plant with out stopping manufacturing. Day-after-day, 1,000 vehicles roll off the road whereas cranes, vans, and staff function round them. The manufacturing facility isn’t increasing outward as a result of house limitations—it’s rising vertically, with three-story manufacturing buildings changing older buildings.
“We’re not remodeling this plant simply because we’re transitioning to electrical autos. The plant can already produce electrical vehicles, just like the i4, which makes up 40% of its present manufacturing. The reconfiguration is going on as a result of the plant is 100 years previous. Once in a while, you need to rethink manufacturing and develop a brand new construction,” defined Dr. Mohan Noronha, Venture Lead for the Structural Transformation of BMW Manufacturing unit Munich.
Constructing a New Manufacturing unit Whereas Protecting the Outdated One Working
The transformation of the Munich plant is not only about introducing new expertise—it’s about doing so whereas conserving the manufacturing facility operational. Not like many automotive vegetation that shut down for intensive retooling, BMW has no such luxurious right here. The town’s dense city atmosphere makes large-scale growth unattainable, so the automaker is demolishing and rebuilding sections of the manufacturing facility in phases whereas manufacturing continues.
This course of requires cautious planning and exact logistics. BMW has initiated 13 main relocation initiatives to clear house for the brand new buildings. Whole departments, together with engine manufacturing, wastewater remedy, and axle pre-assembly, have been moved to different places to make means for the brand new meeting strains. The engine manufacturing division has been relocated to Austria and the UK, marking the tip of combustion engine manufacturing in Munich.
With these large shifts, 600,000 tons of fabric have to be dismantled, examined, and both disposed of or repurposed. Laws require BMW to research and course of this materials earlier than transferring it off-site, that means massive parts of the manufacturing facility grounds have to be used for non permanent storage. In the meantime, 400 vans transfer out and in of the plant each single day, delivering components for manufacturing and hauling away dismantled buildings.
New, Extra Vitality Environment friendly Buildings
When accomplished, the transformation will introduce 70,000 sq. meters of latest manufacturing flooring house, making the plant extra environment friendly and higher fitted to EV manufacturing. Three new manufacturing buildings are being constructed for meeting and physique store operations, every with three full tales to optimize flooring house. These new buildings will probably be 40% extra power environment friendly than those they change, aligning with BMW’s broader sustainability objectives.
“We needed to rethink all the things. There’s no room to increase outward, so we’re constructing vertically. The brand new Closing Meeting Corridor has three flooring, every 9 meters excessive—the footprint alone is the scale of six soccer fields. And if you step inside, you understand simply how briskly issues are altering. Should you go away for 2 weeks and are available again, new partitions have already gone up,” Dr. Noronha informed us throughout our go to.
Expertise, AI, and Workforce Transformation
Past its structural adjustments, the Munich plant can be adopting new expertise to streamline manufacturing. The brand new physique store will combine 900+ robots, considerably decreasing the necessity for guide labor in welding and meeting processes. AI-powered high quality management programs will examine autos in real-time, minimizing defects and enhancing effectivity. Moreover, automated logistics programs will change conventional forklifts, decreasing human labor in components transportation.
Regardless of this shift towards automation, BMW isn’t decreasing its workforce. The plant at present employs 6,500 individuals from over 60 nationalities, and as a substitute of layoffs, BMW is retraining and repositioning workers for brand new roles in EV manufacturing. A brand new Expertise Campus is being constructed to supply steady coaching, guaranteeing that workers stay on the forefront of recent automotive manufacturing.
“We’re not decreasing jobs; we’re coaching our individuals for the long run,” mentioned Dr. Noronha.
Sustainability and the Way forward for City Manufacturing
The transformation can be pushed by sustainability and group integration. Given the manufacturing facility’s location within the coronary heart of Munich, BMW has dedicated to decreasing emissions, noise, and visitors congestion whereas enhancing the plant’s visible and environmental footprint. The brand new design incorporates inexperienced areas, and BMW is exploring methods to make components of the manufacturing facility extra accessible to the general public.
Moreover, logistics are being optimized to reduce pointless transportation, with components being delivered on to manufacturing strains as a substitute of passing by a number of places. These efforts will scale back visitors across the plant and decrease emissions, making the ability extra appropriate with the encircling city atmosphere.
An Spectacular Achievement in Only a Yr
Strolling by the plant, it was clear—this isn’t only a easy manufacturing facility improve. It is a historic transformation. For over a century, BMW’s Munich plant has been the beating coronary heart of the model’s manufacturing. Now, it’s evolving right into a state-of-the-art EV manufacturing hub, setting the stage for the Neue Klasse fashions that can outline BMW’s future.
Essentially the most outstanding half? BMW is doing all of this with out stopping.
