BMW Group Moves One Million Vehicles Without Drivers Across Four Production Plants

BMW Group has announced the movement of one million vehicles across its BMW and MINI brands without drivers using its automated driving technology, marking a significant milestone in the German automaker’s efforts to improve production efficiency and streamline factory logistics.

The milestone comes as the company expanded its Automated Driving In-Plant (AFW) technology to MINI Plant in the United Kingdom. MINI Plant, which joins the company’s plants in Dingolfing, Leipzig and Regensburg, Germany, recorded more than 53,000 automated vehicle movements over the past year.

The system enables new vehicles to move autonomously through designated production and logistics areas without a driver behind the wheel. Across these four locations, BMW says approximately 3,500 automated vehicle movements take place daily.

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BMW first launched the AFW project at its Dingolfing plant in 2022, allowing the new flagship seventh-generation BMW 7 Series and the first-ever i7 electric variant to drive automatically along a predetermined route from the end of the assembly line to the dispatch area.

Since then, the technology has evolved from a pilot project, known internally as “automated driving in the factory,” into a production-ready system that is now being adapted to different BMW Group factories, vehicle architectures and manufacturing processes.

The system combines external sensors, cloud-based computing and advanced motion-planning software to guide vehicles through factory environments. BMW says LiDAR sensors allow the vehicles to respond to people, other vehicles, transport equipment and temporary obstacles along their routes.

The rollout is set to continue in 2027, when BMW Group Plant Spartanburg in the United States is expected to become the fifth facility to introduce the technology. The expansion forms part of BMW’s broader iFACTORY strategy, which focuses on digitalisation, intelligent connectivity and more efficient manufacturing operations.

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