+++ BMW Group bringing Physical AI to Europe +++ Pilot project at BMW Group Plant Leipzig +++ New “Center of Competence for Physical AI in Production” accelerates global integration of AI and robotics…
Munich. The BMW Group is consistently advancing the digitalisation and use of artificial intelligence in production. A key element in this effort is “Physical AI”, which combines digital artificial intelligence (AI) with real machines and robots. This enables intelligent systems such as humanoid robots to be integrated into real-world production processes.
For the first time, the BMW Group is now bringing Physical AI to Europe and launching a pilot project with humanoid robots at the Leipzig plant. The project aims to integrate humanoid robotics into existing series production of cars and to explore further applications in the production of batteries and components.
“Digitalisation improves the competitiveness of our production – here in Europe and worldwide. The symbiosis of engineering expertise and artificial intelligence opens up entirely new possibilities in production,” said Milan Nedeljković, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Production.
Last year, the BMW Group successfully implemented a pilot project with humanoid robots at its Spartanburg plant in the United States. The insights gained from this project are being leveraged to further develop and scale Physical AI applications.
Unified IT and data model in the production system
Artificial intelligence is already an integral part of the BMW Group’s production system. From the virtual factory with digital twins and AI‑enabled quality controls to intralogistics with autonomous transport solutions, intelligent systems are used in almost all production steps.
A prerequisite for the effective use of artificial intelligence in production is a unified IT and data model across the entire production system. The BMW Group has consistently transformed isolated data silos into a unified data platform in its production system meaning that all data is consistent, standardised, and available at all times. This enables digital AI agents to take on increasingly challenging tasks autonomously and in complex environments while continuously learning and becoming available for additional areas of application. The introduction of intelligent and autonomous decision‑making agents marks a paradigm shift in production. In combination with robots, these digital AI agents are what make up Physical AI.
“Our aim is to be a technology leader and to integrate new technologies into production at an early stage. Pilot projects help us to test and further develop the use of Physical AI – that is, AI‑enabled robots capable of learning – under real-world industrial conditions,” said Michael Nikolaides, Senior Vice President Production Network, Supply Chain Management at BMW Group.
Digitalisation and artificial intelligence are core elements of BMW iFACTORY and are the foundation for future‑proof, flexible, and competitive production.
Humanoid robotics complements existing automation
The BMW Group is strategically expanding its automation portfolio to include Physical AI and humanoid robotics. Humanoid robots are viewed as a value‑adding complement to existing automation. Particularly, they demonstrate potential in monotonous, ergonomically demanding, or safety‑critical tasks. The goal is to relieve employees and further improve working conditions.
Center of Competence for Physical AI in Production consolidates expertise
Its consistent data platform in production makes the BMW Group an attractive partner for technology companies seeking to test the possibilities of Physical AI – particularly humanoid robotics – in an industrial environment under real-world conditions. By setting up the new “Center of Competence for Physical AI in Production”, the BMW Group is taking the next step in consolidating its expertise and ensuring that the full range of knowledge can be leveraged across the organisation.
The BMW Group is following a clearly structured approach. Technology partners are evaluated according to defined maturity and industrialisation criteria and tested in pilot projects under real-world production conditions. Following a theoretical assessment, an evaluation is carried out at the manufacturer’s site in the laboratory using real use cases from the BMW production system to test integration capability. If this phase is successful, it is followed by an initial test deployment under real-world production conditions at a BMW Group plant and subsequently the actual pilot phase.
First pilot project with humanoid robots in Europe
In collaboration with Hexagon, a long‑standing, established partner of the BMW Group in the field of sensor technology and software, the first pilot project in Europe is now underway. Hexagon’s organisational unit located in Zürich, Hexagon Robotics, specialises in Physical AI and presented its first humanoid robot, AEON, in June 2025. Following an initial theoretical evaluation phase and successful laboratory tests, there was an initial test deployment at BMW Group Plant Leipzig in December 2025. A further test deployment is planned from April 2026 to ensure full integration for the actual pilot phase starting in summer 2026.
The deployment in Leipzig is focusing on testing a multifunctional application of the robot. It is based on AEON’s design, whose human‑like body allows a wide range of hand and gripper elements or scanning tools to be flexibly attached and enables dynamic use on wheels. During testing and later in the pilot phase, the robot will be used in the assembly of high‑voltage batteries and in component manufacturing.
Successful pilot at BMW Group Plant Spartanburg provides key insights for use of humanoid robots in production
The world’s first deployment of humanoid robots at a BMW Group plant took place at the Spartanburg plant in the United States in 2025, in collaboration with the technology company Figure AI. The results demonstrated that Physical AI can deliver measurable added value under real-world conditions. Within ten months, the robot Figure 02 supported the production of more than 30,000 BMW X3, working ten-hour shifts daily from Monday to Friday. Figure 02 handled the precise removal and positioning of sheet metal parts for the welding process – a task that is particularly demanding in terms of speed and accuracy while also being physically exhausting. In total, it moved more than 90,000 components and covered approximately 1.2 million steps in around 1,250 operating hours.
The pilot confirmed that humanoid robots can safely perform precise, repetitive work steps – such as positioning components with millimetre precision – and provided important insights for the further deployment of Physical AI in production.
During the initial test phases with Figure 02, it was essential to involve all areas of the production IT infrastructure, occupational safety, production process management, and shop floor logistics at an early stage.
One key finding was that the transition from the laboratory to the actual production environment was faster than expected. Motion sequences trained in the laboratory could be quickly transferred into stable shift operation. To ensure smooth coexistence with existing systems, integration into the BMW Smart Robotics ecosystem was implemented via standardised interfaces.
The body shop was deliberately selected for the test phase in Spartanburg, as it already has a high degree of automation. BMW Group employees in this area have extensive experience in integrating new technologies and processes. For example, material supply on the line is already carried out almost exclusively via automated smart transport robots (STR). The project team’s early communication ensured transparency from the outset and promoted acceptance. The deployment of humanoid robots was met with great interest among employees and quickly became a natural part of everyday work during the course of the project.
The BMW Group and Figure are currently evaluating additional use cases for deploying the Figure 03 robot.
Additional quotes for use:
Michael Nikolaides, Senior Vice President Production Network, Supply Chain Management at BMW Group:
“Our aim is to be a technology leader and to integrate new technologies into production at an early stage. Pilot projects help us to test and further develop the use of Physical AI – that is, AI‑enabled robots capable of learning – under real-world industrial conditions. The successful first deployment of humanoid robots at our BMW Group plant in Spartanburg in the USA proves that a humanoid robot can function not only under controlled laboratory conditions but also in an existing automotive manufacturing environment.”
Michael Ströbel, Head of Process Management and Digitalisation, Order to Delivery at BMW Group:
“We are delighted to deploy a humanoid robot for the first time in a pilot project at a plant in Germany. Following evaluation by our Center of Competence for Physical AI in Production, tests were carried out in the laboratory and at Plant Leipzig at the end of last year. This year, our focus is on step‑by‑step integration into our production system to explore a wide range of applications. The emphasis is on researching multifunctional use of the robot in various production areas such as battery manufacturing for energy modules and component production for exterior parts. With Hexagon, we have found a proven long‑standing partner with a highly innovative approach to humanoid robotics for this project.”
Felix Haeckel, Team Lead CoC Physical AI for Production:
“At our new Center of Competence for Physical AI in Production, we are pooling our expertise to make knowledge on AI and robotics widely usable within the company. In recent years, we have built up an international team of experts that, in addition to in‑house research and programming, is dedicated to the gradual integration of AI into the existing production system. At the same time, our team in Munich is driving its own robotics research to set up, support, and further develop pilot projects in the field of Physical AI at our plants.”
Arnaud Robert, President of Hexagon Robotics:
“We are very pleased to be working with the BMW Group to advance the use of humanoid robots in real‑world environments.”
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Comments
Whenever I hear german companies mention digitalisation, I get reminded that they still use pen and pencil in production environments to log data, pass those sheets to secreteries who enter the data into legacy systems so data analysts can enter it into another system that then has an integration with SAP. Data from SAP then flows onwards to some buzzword filled Azure product that costs a few million a month from which someone downloads an xls file and uploads it to Tableau where they run some simple calculations. Someone else downloads it as an xls and manually writes (not copy pastes) the numbers into a power point presentation and makes graphs by drawing shapes. This is then presented at some bi-monthly meeting.
I wish I was making this stuff up.
I used to work for the US side of a German multinational (one of the largest in the world) and discovered the same thing when it came to software.
The German side always had slick presentations (they always had good visual marketing) and impressive claims, but whenever I tried to work with their products, I always found the claims overstated and that they hadn't really executed deeply. This despite my German counterparts working hard (I visited HQ in Germany and when they work, they really work and clock the hours, no idle chitchat)... yet it doesn't translate to impact.
A lot of their products had impressive front-ends but half-baked back-ends (on the American side, it's the reverse -- our interfaces looked like crap, but our stuff actually worked and often delivered in less time).
A lot of their designs were also non-human friendly (if you've ever driven a German car, you'll realize that the car was built for engineers and not for end users -- weird little user-hostile features pop up everywhere). I don't understand why this is -- this is a nation that produced Dieter Rams. Tobi Lutke (CEO Shopify) likes to talk about how Germans grew up surrounded by good design, yet that design culture never permeated many German products. I own a Bosch in-unit washer/dryer and it's frustratingly unintuitive and has a "my (the engineer's) way or the highway" philosophy.
I went to a BMW talk once about the infotainment system (it was built on the latest Azure tech), but came away feeling that the work was not deep. It was skin deep.
I wonder what has happened to the German builder/tinkerer culture that made German manufacturing great. In the 1980s and 1990s, Germany was synonymous with excellence. But in the 2000s-present, not so much (except maybe in very narrow mittelstand verticals, e.g. Zeiss).
"if you've ever driven a German car, you'll realize that the car was built for engineers and not for end users "
cracks me up. I once leased a BMW for 3 years. By the time I returned the car, I still didn't what all the cryptic buttons for HVAC and other controls. They just refused to follow established automotive ergonomic conventions.
Anyway, my father used to do business with Germans for a long time. He had many interesting stories to share, but one that has always stayed with me is, his disdain for how cheap / penny pinching his German companies and their employees were when doing deals. This was in the 90s, so definitely passed the West Germany glory days.
My take is, in the era of global competition, Germans didn't know how to strike the right balance and effective allocate resources. Where to compromise, and where not to. I don't know if it's sheer stubbornness or they're just wired differently.
BMW's most recent infotainment is a big step backwards to me in both areas - aesthetics and UX. Its previous generation was one of the best in the market also in both. I literally don't consider buying the newest 4-series just because of it, especially of the ultrawide driver's "monitor" - it's just so ugly, and I regret it, since on the outside the car appeals me so much more. I'd rather spend the same on previous year model with better specs.
> I wonder what has happened to the German builder/tinkerer culture that made German manufacturing great.
Over engineered stuff which hate the user is staple of German manufacturing. Look on tanks during WW2. Impressive on the surface but unreliable crap for everyone who used it.
> if you've ever driven a German car, you'll realize that the car was built for engineers and not for end users -- weird little user-hostile features pop up everywhere
I drive a German car, all be it one from 2015, I don’t recognise this statement at all.
I find it quite well designed.
This sounds more like over generalised FUD to me.
> has an integration with SAP
There is your problem right there. A family member worked for a large German company which used in-house developed software for exchanging and preparing lab reports for customers. The software worked well since the 90ies, was perfectly tailored to the company, and the people writing it were in the same building and could ship bug fixes within hours. Everyone was happy. Around 2015, someone in management had the idea to move the entire process to a customized off-the-shelf SAP product because of <buzzwords>. The software engineers were in effect degraded to administrators. The new system missed so many edge cases of the lab process that they had to fall back to pen, paper and phone. Customer complaints and employee turnover started to skyrocket immediately afterwards.
This describes large companies everywhere
I encountered oil wells essentially controlled by post-it notes passed around an office.
By _glass 2026-03-0510:13 I worked with several multinationals, and the Germans always had very complex processes, but cannot at all confirm that they were the least digitised. The Americans were always behind in integrations (lots of file-based stuff), using outdated software, etc. I think the US has this problem that in Germany working for a bigger company is attracting talent, vs. the US where the talent goes to tech, while the rest is really far behind, i.e., Fortune500.
By nicbou 2026-03-0510:23 Germany is desperately wishing for a wonder weapon that will help them catch up and overtake other nations technologically. They constantly talk about smart cities and AI pie-in-the-sky projects while their administration is paper-based, risk-averse and parsimonious. They would not recognise not use such a breakthrough solution if it was handed to them.
Berlin's Chief Digitalization Officer's Twitter account was pure black comedy, until he was replaced by someone who - to my knowledge - has been AWOL for years.
By FrustratedMonky 2026-03-0423:282 reply That might actually describe a pretty good implementation of an interface to SAP.
I think pencil is more efficient than SAP.
By formerly_proven 2026-03-0510:28 I've only seen pen and paper at work in connection with things where real paper signed with actual pens was required by law in such unambiguous terms that nobody felt like taking the risk of PDFs or a boolean database column. So, less than once per year. I've never printed anything for work and I'm not really sure how I would correctly print something. I think there is one printer in my branch office, somewhere?
I haven't seen any production process in automotive involve hand-written paper and I doubt it exists. Automotive supply chains have always been under massive cost pressure and therefore were always at the forefront of the most deeply digitized and automated supply chains.
I've seen worse. For 2 years I received the results weekly, that I didn't ask for, of a $1m a year burn reporting stack. This was launched during a massive back patting ceremony like something out of Severance.
So one day I stared at it randomly and noticed that the pie chart percentages on one thing didn't even add up to 100. Looked back at history and it turned out this had been the case since day one. Spent a day taking it to bits and a good 50% of it made no sense at all and people had been making business decisions on it without checking it.
And to remediate it? They replaced it with some AI generated slop which is even worse.
By Xylakant 2026-03-0512:07 > I get reminded that they still use pen and pencil in production environments to log data,
That's the fundamental reason they're using humanoid robots - industrial robots have a hard time holding pencils.
In many cases in Germany "digitalization" means there's a PDF which you can download, print, fill out sign and scan and send copy of.
That reminds me.
I worked for a company where we punched in using an iButton (it's a pretty neat 1-wire thing that fits on a key chain).
The punch clock system was logged and then at the end of the month, they printed out a single A4 sheet for every employee for us to make corrections and sign. Of course, someone had the unenviable job of going over all those and applying the corrections.
We also had to write down hours spent on different projects in a completely different system that wasn't at all integrated with the punch clock system.
At some point in the last couple of years that I worked there, they switched to Workday. That was not an improvement.
By kensai 2026-03-057:50 They are improving, though, given the international pressures. I've seen it at least in the organisation I am working (a university hospital).
By jimnotgym 2026-03-057:50 Or even more likely gets emailed around daily to a bunch of people, half of which don't work there anymore, most of which don't read it, and one that is looking to haul people over the coals over a KPI that is against the companies best interests, but is powerful enough to command this wasting of time
By airstrike 2026-03-0514:13 > Someone else downloads it as an xls and manually writes (not copy pastes) the numbers into a power point presentation and makes graphs by drawing shapes. This is then presented at some bi-monthly meeting.
I made an app that fixes this part of the problem. The rest is cultural.
By drnick1 2026-03-050:26 > I wish I was making this stuff up.
Lmao. Yes it's a pretty good summary of what happens in the corporate world, and not only in Germany.
By mr_toad 2026-03-0512:25 > someone downloads an xls file and uploads it to Tableau
Sometimes this is because of red tape and not because of software. I’ve run into many situations where you can log into the system and download a spreadsheet from the web interface, but the equivalent API hasn’t been configured (or has been deliberately disabled).
By KnuthIsGod 2026-03-051:052 reply SAP is truly terrible.
By monero-xmr 2026-03-0423:37 [dead]
Not sure this counts as "humanoid" any more than the robots we've had in factories for a century... the hands and feet are nothing like a human's, and would not be improved by being more human.
It seems they just made the shape of their machine have a vaguely human silhouette so they could ride a hype wave.
I'm all for programmable humanoid robots, humans are an awesome human interface, but this ain't it.
That’s generally what it seemed like to me too. Seemed to be human shaped so they could say it’s humanoid… and nothing else.
Nothing in the video looked like it couldn’t be done by a more industrial robot shaped robot. And I bet that would be cheaper or easier to make.
Then I started reading the text. When I got to the part very early on about deploying “Physical AI” that confirmed it to me.
This all seems to be “humanoid washing”. Nothing terribly interesting that someone put a special coat of paint on to get attention.
I’d love to be proven wrong. But the video certainly didn’t show it. And I didn’t notice it in the press release, though it was hard to parse past the ridiculously over the top language that did nothing but obscure what was actually going on.
Probably because there’s not much going on.
By imglorp 2026-03-0514:04 Yes, this looks like hype.
Both balancing and bipedal features seem to be only limiting and detrimental in a factory environment.
If they were serious, it would have a wheeled box on the bottom half.
By jimnotgym 2026-03-057:31 And the speed it is working is much slower than a human
A union in Germany is fighting Tesla over this same thing...
>. In 2026, Giga Berlin is the pilot site for the "Optimus" Gen-3 integration—humanoid robots performing repetitive tasks in the battery pack assembly area. IG Metall views this not as progress, but as a threat to job security.
https://www.teslaacessories.com/blogs/news/the-giga-berlin-s...
By umpalumpaaa 2026-03-059:042 reply I always found German unions pretty good.
I mean the union is correct in this case. Robots will replace jobs. A union’s job is to make sure there are jobs for people in the company they are already in.
Usually unions would speak the truth (“robots = jobs go away”) but pair this with some suggestions: eg trying to upskill the affected worker so that they can be moved to a different department).
While I was working in Germany I always felt better at a company with a strong union.
