BMW has begun production of the fully-electric BMW iX1 in Regensburg; all its German plants can now produce electric cars. By 2024, at least one in three BMWs coming out of its Bavarian plants will be an electric car, said Milan Nedeljković, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Production. The high-voltage battery in the BMW iX1 also comes from Regensburg.

“Marriage” of body and drivetrain for the fully-electric BMW iX1 at Regensburg

The start of production for the new BMW iX1 means BMW Group Plant Regensburg is now manufacturing all drive technologies on a single line as part of its flexible production process—for combustion-engine, plug-in hybrid and fully-electric models.

The BMW Group high-voltage battery production in Regensburg is adjacent to the vehicle plant.

As part of a recent pilot project, the Regensburg plant was digitally mapped. The resulting digital twin enables highly efficient planning of future plant structures and production facilities.

Assembly of coolant lines for the engine-transmission unit (HEAT) for the BMW iX1 at BMW Group Plant Regensburg

The plant’s paint shop, for example, relies on artificial intelligence: Paint surfaces are scanned to ensure flawless quality and then finished using a fully-automated program customized for each vehicle.

Artificial intelligence is also used in vehicle assembly at Plant Regensburg —specifically, AI-supported image recognition methods that assist employees with quality inspections. The AIQX (Artificial Intelligence Quality Next) computer system that is used for this learns to recognise objects such as a person from sample images, making it a useful supplement to conventional, camera-based quality inspections.

Predictive maintenance ensures that technical faults, e.g. in conveyor systems, are detected early, before system downtimes can occur. Installations and machinery are monitored through automated evaluation of process data.

By the end of 2022, the BMW Group will have invested a total of more than €1.6 billion in electric component production at its German locations in Dingolfing, Leipzig and Regensburg. More than 3,300 employees currently work in BMW Group electric component production at those sites.