BMW Reaches One Million Driverless Movements in Its Factories
The German carmaker's in-plant automated driving system has passed a major milestone, with plans to expand to the United States in 2027.
Illustration: AI-generated image
BMW Group has announced that its factories have now completed one million movements of vehicles without a driver behind the wheel. The milestone comes as the carmaker continues to roll out its Automated Driving In-Plant (AFW) system across its global production network.
The technology, developed in partnership with Swiss firm Embotech, is currently in operation at four plants: Dingolfing, Leipzig and Regensburg in Germany, plus the Mini factory in Oxford, UK. The system autonomously moves both finished cars and vehicles still in production between different zones within each plant, operating entirely on private factory grounds rather than public roads.
Raymond Wittmann, BMW AG board member for production, said the milestone demonstrates the company's innovative strength and the scalability of its production network. The Oxford plant alone recorded more than 53,000 automated movements in the past year, becoming the newest addition to the AFW programme. Its integration with existing control systems allowed that volume without slowing down production lines.
BMW says the system operates without interruption and has a reliability rate of over 99.5 percent. It is described as the largest LiDAR infrastructure in Europe, with sensors giving each vehicle a full overview of its surroundings, including people and forklifts. BMW now plans to expand AFW to its Spartanburg plant in South Carolina, which will become the fifth location and the first in the United States. Series production there is targeted for 2027, following the same incremental approach used in Europe.
