In February, I had the uncommon alternative to witness firsthand one of the vital bold transformations in BMW’s historical past. Hidden behind the model’s iconic headquarters and museum, the Munich plant is present process an enormous modernization effort that can utterly reshape how BMW builds vehicles within the coronary heart of its hometown. This manufacturing facility—one in every of BMW’s longest-running manufacturing websites—has been in operation since 1922, and by 2027, it is going to produce solely totally electrical autos, making it one of many firm’s first crops devoted solely 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 should be rebuilt from inside, whereas sustaining full-scale manufacturing. The problem is gigantic: BMW is tearing down and rebuilding one-third of your complete plant with out stopping manufacturing. Day by day, 1,000 vehicles roll off the road whereas cranes, vehicles, and staff function round them. The manufacturing facility will not be increasing outward attributable to area limitations—it’s rising vertically, with three-story manufacturing buildings changing older constructions.
“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 The reconfiguration is going on as a result of the plant is 100 years outdated. Every now and then, it’s important 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Constructing a New Manufacturing unit Whereas Maintaining the Outdated One Working
The transformation of the Munich plant isn’t just about introducing new know-how—it’s about doing so whereas protecting the manufacturing facility operational. Not like many automotive crops that shut down for intensive retooling, BMW has no such luxurious right here. Town’s dense city setting makes large-scale growth inconceivable, 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 tasks to clear area for the brand new constructions. Complete departments, together with engine manufacturing, wastewater remedy, and axle pre-assembly, have been moved to different areas to make means for the brand new meeting traces. 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 should be dismantled, examined, and both disposed of or repurposed. Laws require BMW to investigate and course of this materials earlier than transferring it off-site, which means giant parts of the manufacturing facility grounds should be used for momentary storage. In the meantime, 400 vehicles transfer out and in of the plant each single day, delivering elements for manufacturing and hauling away dismantled constructions.
New, Extra Vitality Environment friendly Buildings
When accomplished, the transformation will introduce 70,000 sq. meters of recent manufacturing flooring area, 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 area. These new constructions shall be 40% extra power environment friendly than those they substitute, aligning with BMW’s broader sustainability objectives.
“We needed to rethink every part. There’s no room to develop outward, so we’re constructing vertically. The brand new Last Meeting Corridor has three flooring, every 9 meters excessive—the footprint alone is the scale of six soccer fields. And once you step inside, you understand simply how briskly issues are altering. Should you depart for 2 weeks and are available again, new partitions have already gone up,” Dr. Noronha advised us throughout our go to.
Expertise, AI, and Workforce Transformation
Past its structural adjustments, the Munich plant can also be adopting new know-how to streamline manufacturing. The brand new physique store will combine 900+ robots, considerably lowering the necessity for handbook 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 substitute conventional forklifts, lowering human labor in elements transportation.
Regardless of this shift towards automation, BMW will not be lowering its workforce. The plant presently employs 6,500 individuals from over 60 nationalities, and as an alternative of layoffs, BMW is retraining and repositioning workers for brand new roles in EV manufacturing. A brand new Expertise Campus is being constructed to offer steady coaching, guaranteeing that workers stay on the forefront of contemporary automotive manufacturing.
“We’re not lowering jobs; we’re coaching our individuals for the long run,” stated Dr. Noronha.
Sustainability and the Way forward for City Manufacturing
The transformation can also be pushed by sustainability and neighborhood integration. Given the manufacturing facility’s location within the coronary heart of Munich, BMW has dedicated to lowering emissions, noise, and site 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 elements of the manufacturing facility extra accessible to the general public.
Moreover, logistics are being optimized to attenuate pointless transportation, with elements being delivered on to manufacturing traces as an alternative of passing by way of a number of areas. These efforts will cut back site visitors across the plant and decrease emissions, making the power extra appropriate with the encompassing city setting.
An Spectacular Achievement in Only a Yr
Strolling by way of 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.
Probably the most exceptional half? BMW is doing all of this with out stopping.
