BMW Deploys Automated Vehicle Marshaling to Move Driverless Cars From its FactoriesBMW Deploys Automated Vehicle Marshaling to Move Driverless Cars From its Factories

BMW factories don’t need human drivers to move finished cars from the assembly line to their inspection point.

Dan Carney, Senior Editor

January 29, 2025

3 Min Read
The imagined robotic view from behind the steering wheel of a driverless car in BMW's factory.
The imagined robotic view from behind the steering wheel of a driverless car in BMW's factory.BMW

At a Glance

  • BMW is using lidar units mounted in its factories to guide self-driving cars from the assembly line.
  • The company partnered with Embotech AG which in turn relied on collaboration with Outsight and Hesai to create the system.
  • With this system, human drivers do not need to be shuttled from the car's destinations back to the assembly line.

While automotive assembly lines have become thoroughly automated, what happens when the finished car reaches the end of the line? Previously, human drivers have climbed behind the wheel to pilot the new cars from the factory floor to a test track or final inspection point.

This is a labor-intensive step of production, not only because humans have to drive the cars to their next destination in the process, but because having delivered them there, the humans are now stranded and have to be shuttled back to the assembly line to get into the next car rolling off the line.

BMW is automating this process with the help of Embotech, Outsight, and Hesai by installing a lidar infrastructure in its plants that provide the cars with the sensory data they need to safely drive themselves. This started with a pilot project at BMW’s Dingolfing, Germany plant in 2022 and is now moving into production at other plants, starting with the factory in Leipzig, with other factories to follow. BMW calls this Automated Driving In-Plant (AFW).

The first vehicles to drive themselves through BMW’s plants were the 5 Series and 7 Series cars built at Dingolfing, and those have been followed by the Mini Countryman and other BMW models in Leipzig. In addition to the BMW 5 Series and 7 Series in Dingolfing, this technology is now also being used for the MINI Countryman and other BMW models in Leipzig. The AFW system can control these vehicles’ movements no matter the specific optional equipment installed using BMW’s cloud architecture.

Related:BMW Debuts New iDrive Panoramic Vision

“Automated Driving In-Plant optimizes our production process and delivers significant efficiency gains for our logistics,” explains Milan Nedeljković, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for production. “That is why we will be swiftly rolling out this technology throughout our production network.”

Driverless BMWs leave the assembly line.

The company says that it can employ automated driving for around 90 percent of the BMW and MINI models in Leipzig and it plans to add the Regensburg, Germany and Oxford, UK plants later this year. When it opens, BMW’s new factory in Debrecen, Hungary will join them.

The AFW system can do even more in the future when BMW plans to expand it to tasks such as driving the newly assembled cars through the testing zone and in outdoor distribution areas. As the cars gain more on-board sensors for driver assistance systems, they will be able to contribute to the AFW system’s capability by supplementing the situational awareness of the current external lidar sensors mounted throughout the factory.

Related:BMW Tests Humanoid Assembly Robots from Figure AI

This lidar unit watches from the wall as the car drives through the factory. BMW.jpg

“Over the next ten years, we will log several million test kilometers with Automated Driving In-Plant in our production network alone,” says Nedeljković. “In this way, the BMW Group is once again setting a new benchmark for automation and digitalization of its production processes – while paving the way for future applications in the field of autonomous driving.”

The AFW system was built in partnership with Embotech AG, which in turn relied on collaboration with Outsight and Hesai for the lidar-based vehicle guidance system.

This Mini Countryman drives itself from the assembly line. BMW.jpg

Outsight contributes the advanced lidar software platform that tracks the vehicle and the surrounding obstacles within BMW's production facilities. Hesai provides the actual lidar sensors that let the computer see where the cars are going.

"The combination of Outsight's sophisticated lidar software platform and Hesai's reliable lidar sensors perfectly complements Embotech's autonomous driving expertise," said Alexander Domahidi, CTO and founder of Embotech. "This collaboration ensures the highest standards of safety and efficiency in BMW's automated vehicle operations."

About the Author

Dan Carney

Senior Editor, Design News

Dan’s coverage of the auto industry over three decades has taken him to the racetracks, automotive engineering centers, vehicle simulators, wind tunnels, and crash-test labs of the world.

A member of the North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year jury, Dan also contributes car reviews to Popular Science magazine, serves on the International Engine of the Year jury, and has judged the collegiate Formula SAE competition.

Dan is a winner of the International Motor Press Association's Ken Purdy Award for automotive writing, as well as the National Motorsports Press Association's award for magazine writing and the Washington Automotive Press Association's Golden Quill award.

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He has held a Sports Car Club of America racing license since 1991, is an SCCA National race winner, two-time SCCA Runoffs competitor in Formula F, and an Old Dominion Region Driver of the Year award winner. Co-drove a Ford Focus 1.0-liter EcoBoost to 16 Federation Internationale de l’Automobile-accredited world speed records over distances from just under 1km to over 4,104km at the CERAM test circuit in Mortefontaine, France.

He was also a longtime contributor to the Society of Automotive Engineers' Automotive Engineering International magazine.

He specializes in analyzing technical developments, particularly in the areas of motorsports, efficiency, and safety.

He has been published in The New York Times, NBC News, Motor Trend, Popular Mechanics, The Washington Post, Hagerty, AutoTrader.com, Maxim, RaceCar Engineering, AutoWeek, Virginia Living, and others.

Dan has authored books on the Honda S2000 and Dodge Viper sports cars and contributed automotive content to the consumer finance book, Fight For Your Money.

He is a member and past president of the Washington Automotive Press Association and is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers

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