BMW Is Betting On Driverless Cars

• 28.10.2026, 18:10

Self-driving cars are already cruising around factories.

BMW has moved one million vehicles within its plants using an automated driving system. The technology is in use at four facilities in Germany and the United Kingdom, where the vehicles make about 3,500 trips per day, according to Motor1 (translation by Charter97.org).

The Automated Driving In-Plant (AFW) system was introduced in 2022 as a pilot project at the Dingolfing plant. BMW developed it in collaboration with the Swiss company Embotech. Today, the technology is also in use in Leipzig, Regensburg, and at the Mini plant in Oxford.

The vehicles move autonomously between production areas, navigating around people, forklifts, and other machines. The system uses sensors and lidars for navigation. At the same time, automation has not slowed down the work of the assembly lines.

“One million vehicles moved using automated driving technology and the implementation of this technology at four sites demonstrate the innovative potential and scalability of our production network,” said Raymond Wittmann, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Production.