BMW has crossed a significant threshold in automation: the automaker’s Spartanburg plant — the largest BMW facility in the world — became the first BMW site anywhere to deploy a humanoid robot in active production, and the company is now expanding the model globally. The pilot, run in partnership with technology company Figure AI, placed the Figure 02 robot on the BMW X3 production line in Spartanburg’s body shop, where it handled precise sheet metal positioning for welding operations.
Over a ten-month period, the Figure 02 robot supported the production of more than 30,000 BMW X3 vehicles. Working ten-hour shifts Monday through Friday, it moved more than 90,000 components and logged approximately 1,250 operating hours — the equivalent of 1.2 million steps. According to BMW, the transition from laboratory training to stable shift operation was faster than expected, with motion sequences mastered in a test environment transferring reliably to the live factory floor.
The results at Spartanburg were strong enough that BMW has since brought the concept to Europe. At its Leipzig plant in Germany, the automaker launched a new pilot in partnership with Hexagon Robotics, whose AEON humanoid robot — standing 1.65 meters tall and equipped with AI-based motion control — is now working in high-voltage battery assembly. BMW has also established a Center of Competence for Physical AI in Production to standardize how these systems are evaluated and scaled across its global manufacturing network.
For the 11,000 workers at the Spartanburg plant, the company has been deliberate about framing the technology as augmentation rather than replacement. BMW says humanoid robots are targeted at monotonous, ergonomically demanding, or safety-critical tasks — freeing employees to focus on quality verification, process oversight, and higher-skill roles. Our aim is to be a technology leader and to integrate new technologies into production at an early stage,
said Michael Nikolaides, Senior Vice President Production Network at BMW Group. The successful first deployment of humanoid robots at our BMW Group plant in Spartanburg proves that a humanoid robot can function not only under controlled laboratory conditions but also in an existing automotive manufacturing environment.
The Spartanburg plant — which has invested more than $14.8 billion in the local economy since 1992, supports roughly 43,000 regional jobs, and exported approximately $10 billion in vehicles in 2024 — is now recognized as the reference point for Physical AI in automotive manufacturing. BMW and Figure AI are currently evaluating additional use cases for the next-generation Figure 03 robot. As the Upstate SC corridor watches national trends in automation and employment, Spartanburg’s plant is where those trends are being written in real time.
What’s Happening in Spartanburg
- What is BMW deploying at its Spartanburg plant?
BMW is deploying humanoid robots from Figure AI to assist with manufacturing tasks, starting with body shop and assembly operations. - How many jobs are at the Spartanburg BMW plant?
BMW’s Spartanburg plant employs about 11,000 workers and is the automaker’s largest production facility in the world. - What does this mean for Spartanburg workers?
BMW says robots will handle repetitive and physically demanding tasks, with the goal of redeploying workers to higher-skill roles rather than eliminating positions.
