BMW brings humanoid robots to German manufacturing as incoming CEO signals automation push

BMW Group brings humanoid robots to Germany

The automaker has launched a pilot at its Leipzig plant using Hexagon Robotics' AEON humanoid. The move follows a successful 11-month run in the US with Figure AI's robots, and arrives just as the production chief who championed the programme prepares to take the top job. A new colleague has arrived on the shop floor at BMW's Leipzig plant. It stands 1.65 metres tall, weighs 60 kilograms, and instead of feet, its legs end in wheels. Its name is AEON, and it represents something genuinely new for European manufacturing: the first humanoid robot deployed in production in Germany. BMW Group announced the Leipzig pilot on 9 March 2026, framing it as the latest step in what the company calls its 'physical AI' strategy, the convergence of artificial intelligence and robotics at the level of the factory floor. The robot is built by Hexagon Robotics, the physical AI division of Swedish measurement technology group Hexagon, headquartered in Zürich. The timing is notable. The executive leading this initiative, Milan Nedeljković, BMW's Board Member for Production, has been named the company's incoming CEO, effective 14 May 2026. His promotion was announced in December 2025, making the Leipzig deployment one of the last major announcements from his tenure as production chief, and an early signal of the priorities he will bring to the top job. AEON is not a legged humanoid in the conventional sense. Rather than feet, its legs terminate in wheels, allowing it to move across factory floors at up to 2.5 metres per second on flat surfaces, while retaining the ability to step over obstacles when needed. Its torso is human-like, designed to accept interchangeable gripping tools, hands, and scanning devices without structural modification, making it genuinely multifunctional in a way that fixed-arm industrial robots are not. The robot carries 22 integrated sensors, including peripheral cameras, time-of-flight, infrared, SLAM navigation cameras, and microphones, giving it 360-degree real-time spatial awareness. It runs on NVIDIA Jetson Orin onboard computers and was trained largely through simulation using NVIDIA's Isaac platform, a method that allowed Hexagon to develop core locomotion capabilities in weeks rather than the months a traditional approach would require. At Leipzig, AEON's initial role is to support high-voltage battery assembly and component production, areas where tasks are repetitive, physically demanding, and require precision. The operational debut took place in December 2025, following a theoretical assessment and laboratory testing phase. Further testing is planned for April 2026, ahead of full pilot integration scheduled for summer. "Our aim is to be a technology leader and integrate new technologies into production early," said Michael Nikolaides, Senior Vice President Production Network, Supply Chain at BMW Group. "Pilot projects help us test and evolve the use of adaptive AI-enabled robots, also known as 'physical AI', in a real-world industrial setting." Hexagon is not a name typically associated with humanoid robots. The Stockholm-listed group -- which reported revenue of around €5.1 billion in 2024, built its reputation over decades in precision measurement technology, sensors, and industrial software. Its Robotics division, formed specifically to develop AEON, launched the robot at Hexagon's annual Hexagon LIVE Global event in Las Vegas in June 2025. The AEON project was built in collaboration with NVIDIA, Microsoft, and precision actuator maker Maxon. NVIDIA's accelerated computing infrastructure powers training; Microsoft Azure enables scalable model development; and Maxon's next-generation actuators drive locomotion. Arnaud Robert, President of Hexagon Robotics, has described the robot's design philosophy as explicitly industrial: it is built to work, not to perform. "We're not in the dancing business, we're in the working business," he said at a Munich event earlier this month attended by automotive press. BMW describes Hexagon as a longstanding partner in sensor technologies and software, which gave the two companies a natural foundation for the joint robotics programme. The Leipzig pilot is the first automotive deployment of AEON anywhere in the world; Hexagon's other announced pilot partners include aerospace manufacturer Pilatus and bearing and components specialist Schaeffler. BMW's decision to bring AEON to Leipzig builds directly on a prior experiment across the Atlantic. In January 2024, BMW announced a commercial agreement with Figure AI, a California-based humanoid robotics startup, to deploy robots at its Spartanburg plant in South Carolina, which assembles the X3, X5, X7, and related models. Initial testing began shortly after, with a formal results announcement in August 2024 and the full 11-month deployment completing in late 2025. The numbers from Spartanburg are striking. Figure 02, a legged humanoid operating on 10-hour shifts five days a week, handled the removal and positioning of sheet metal parts for the welding process, moving more than 90,000 components over approximately 1,250 operating hours and contributing to the production of more than 30,000 BMW X3 vehicles. The robot logged roughly 1.2 million steps during that period. The project also surfaced practical lessons that BMW and Figure are now folding into next-generation systems. The transition from laboratory to live production was faster than anticipated. Revised safety protocols, including additional barriers and improved 5G connectivity in the production hall, were implemented as the deployment progressed. Figure 02 has since been retired as Figure AI moves to its third-generation platform, Figure 03, which BMW and Figure are now evaluating for potential new deployments. Both the Spartanburg and Leipzig programmes reflect a broader strategic bet BMW is making on the role of AI in manufacturing, and on the premise that humanoid robots, specifically, are approaching the threshold of genuine industrial usefulness. BMW's iFACTORY concept, its overarching vision for production, rests on three pillars: lean, green, and digital. The digital pillar has involved a systematic conversion of the group's production systems toward a unified IT and data model, breaking down the data silos that previously separated different functions, and creating a shared platform across which AI agents, digital twins, and autonomous transport systems can all operate. The humanoid robot sits at the frontier of that programme: it is the physical layer of a system that is otherwise increasingly virtual. "Digitalisation makes our production more competitive, both here in Europe and worldwide," said Nedeljković in a statement. "This symbiosis of engineering expertise and artificial intelligence opens up entirely new opportunities in production." BMW has also established a dedicated Centre of Competence for Physical AI in Production, bringing together specialists in AI and robotics to evaluate technology partners and oversee the progression of pilot projects from the concept stage through to operational deployment. The modular physical AI solutions developed there are intended to be rolled out across BMW Group plants globally. For employees, BMW is careful to frame humanoid robots as a complement to human labour rather than a replacement for it. Repetitive, ergonomically demanding, or safety-critical tasks are the target, freeing workers to focus on quality control, process management, and the integration of new technologies.

Meet the humanoid robots that could build your next BMW

Humanoid robots already taking the strain out of mundane production line tasks There are plenty of robots that can perform forward rolls and other entertaining moves at trade shows like CES or IFA. However, the arrival of Zurich-based Hexagon Robotics' humanoid robot, AEON, revealed that these creations are going to be genuinely useful in the production environment. BMW has commissioned the firm with the aim of assembling, at least partially, its new electric cars in the near future - potentially including the upcoming BMW i3 EV saloon. The second model in BMW's Neue Klasse is currently undergoing rigorous winter testing in Sweden and set to have its design premiere later this month. Production should kick off in the second half of 2026, following hot on the heels of the widely praised BMW iX3. It'll feature BMW's sixth-gen eDrive powertrain, using 800-volt technology and promising charging speeds of up to 400kW. Provisional figures for the power of the BMW i3 50 xDrive are 469 horsepower and 645Nm of torque. Prime mover I took a closer look at one of the humanoid robots recently and it's an impressive bit of kit. The variant I saw showing off its skills was on wheels, which is better suited to a factory environment. Aside from that, all other features are designed to emulate real people on a production line. Results at BMW's huge manufacturing facility in Spartanburg, USA, have already delivered some fascinating stats on how useful humanoid robots could be for streamlining the production process. There, in collaboration with tech company Figure AI, the Figure 02 robot carried out chores supporting production of 30,000 BMW X3s during ten-hour shifts from Monday to Friday. The great thing about robots is just how good they are for repetitive yet precise tasks, with Figure 02 being involved in the painstaking removal and positioning of sheet metal ready for welding. The stats revealed that Figure 02 is no slouch in the workflow department, having moved 90,000 components and covered in the region of 1.2 million steps over a period of around 1,250 hours. Where a human would probably have got bored, not to mention become completely exhausted, Figure 02 would always be ready for more. It's easy to see the appeal for any company involved in manufacturing. Meanwhile, back at the BMW showcase in Munich, the other great thing about AEON was that, once its battery levels were suitably depleted, the robot could head straight back to its charging station and manually switch its own batteries. I saw this happen and, well, it was a pretty slick operation. No tea break needed. Unsurprisingly, then, real world testing has already commenced at the BMW Group Plant in Leipzig. During my visit to BMWs Munich event, journalists were naturally keen to enquire on the implications humanoid robots could pose for real jobs. BMW thinks the addition of robots will supplement rather than replace its workforce. Indeed, production line personnel could be redeployed to do other, more interesting things, as part of the production process. I can see that and, judging by progress at BMW HQ, it's going to happen sooner rather than later.