In February, I had the uncommon alternative to witness firsthand some of the bold 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 may utterly reshape how BMW builds automobiles 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 can produce solely absolutely electrical automobiles, making it one of many firm’s first crops devoted completely 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 the complete plant with out stopping manufacturing. Day-after-day, 1,000 automobiles roll off the road whereas cranes, vehicles, and employees function round them. The manufacturing facility is just not increasing outward attributable to area limitations—it’s rising vertically, with three-story manufacturing buildings changing older buildings.
“We aren’t reworking this plant simply because we’re transitioning to electrical automobiles. The plant can already produce electrical automobiles, 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 The reconfiguration is going on as a result of the plant is 100 years outdated. Infrequently, you need to rethink manufacturing and develop a brand new construction,” defined Dr. Mohan Noronha, Challenge Lead for the Structural Transformation of BMW Manufacturing unit Munich.
Constructing a New Manufacturing unit Whereas Maintaining the Previous One Operating
The transformation of the Munich plant isn’t just about introducing new expertise—it’s about doing so whereas retaining 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 enlargement 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 tasks to clear area for the brand new buildings. Whole departments, together with engine manufacturing, wastewater therapy, and axle pre-assembly, have been moved to different places to make manner for the brand new meeting traces. The engine manufacturing division has been relocated to Austria and the UK, marking the top 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 research and course of this materials earlier than shifting 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 buildings.
New, Extra Vitality Environment friendly Buildings
When accomplished, the transformation will introduce 70,000 sq. meters of recent manufacturing ground 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 ground area. These new buildings will probably be 40% extra vitality environment friendly than those they substitute, aligning with BMW’s broader sustainability objectives.
“We needed to rethink the whole lot. 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 while you step inside, you understand simply how briskly issues are altering. In case 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 modifications, the Munich plant can also be adopting new expertise to streamline manufacturing. The brand new physique store will combine 900+ robots, considerably decreasing the necessity for handbook labor in welding and meeting processes. AI-powered high quality management techniques will examine automobiles in real-time, minimizing defects and bettering effectivity. Moreover, automated logistics techniques will substitute conventional forklifts, decreasing human labor in elements transportation.
Regardless of this shift towards automation, BMW is just not decreasing its workforce. The plant at the moment employs 6,500 folks 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 aren’t decreasing jobs; we’re coaching our folks for the long run,” stated Dr. Noronha.
Sustainability and the Way forward for City Manufacturing
The transformation can also 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 site visitors congestion whereas bettering 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 via a number of places. These efforts will scale back site visitors across the plant and decrease emissions, making the power extra appropriate with the encircling city setting.
An Spectacular Achievement in Only a 12 months
Strolling via the plant, it was clear—this isn’t only a easy manufacturing facility improve. This can be 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 may outline BMW’s future.
Probably the most outstanding half? BMW is doing all of this with out stopping.
