BMW Plant Munich to Go Green

• The new BMW i4 electric sedan is made in Munich

• The company is aiming to reduce emissions caused by production by 80% in 2030

• Modernisation of the plant includes many new technologies

BMW is committed to reduce its environmental impact caused by manufacturing, especially at its main Munich plant.

This factory is the main plant for BMW since it is located in its native city and it has built vehicles since 1922.

Currently, vehicles assembled there include the 3 series and the 4 series, as well as the brand new i4 electric sedan.

BMW is modernizing the facility by fitting it with new technologies, such as RFID technology that allows robots to assign parts to each vehicle and direct them to the correct station by using antennae along the conveyor belts. Another innovation is the automated process by which the battery is fitted in the i4 without requiring human supervision.

The company wants at least half of the cars made in Munich to be electrified by 2023 and its goal is to reduce emissions caused by manufacturing by 80% by 2030, following a reduction of 78% between 2006 and 2020.

To reach this, many changes will be put in place. One of them will be the adoption of electric trucks to supply the factory with outside parts and to deliver the completed vehicles. Another measure is the reduction of fresh water consumption by 6 million liters annually by using reverse osmosis to purify the water used in the paint shop.

Since 2020, BMW Group has only used green sourced energy for its operations worldwide, including the Munich plant which is powered by regional hydro-electric power stations.