BMW Group

Explainers

Plain-language answers to the questions people ask about BMW Group, from DEPLOY’s explainer library. Each is written in the language of the question and cross-checked against this registry.

• What is Figure 03?

  Figure 03 is the third-generation humanoid robot from Figure AI, a US humanoid manufacturer based in Sunnyvale, California. The robot stands 173 cm (about 5'8"), weighs 61 kg, and is currently in active pilot deployment at a Catalyst Brands distribution logistics center. It is not available for consumer purchase as of mid-2026.

• What does Figure's BMW Spartanburg humanoid deployment actually look like?

  The Figure 02 humanoid robot has operated in production at BMW Group's Spartanburg, South Carolina plant since August 2024, contributing to the assembly of more than 30,000 BMW X3 vehicles over an 11-month deployment that accumulated 1,250 hours of runtime handling more than 90,000 parts in chassis-assembly tasks. The deployment is the canonical commercial humanoid manufacturing reference for the cohort, with end-product OEM acceptance verification distinguishing it from peer humanoid deployments. BMW Group has announced expansion to its Plant Leipzig facility as the second humanoid production site. Figure's current-generation Figure 03 is deployed at Catalyst Brands Reno, not at BMW; BMW Spartanburg remains the Figure 02 deployment anchor as of mid-2026.

• What is Figure's Catalyst Brands Reno humanoid deployment?

  The Figure 03 humanoid is deployed at Catalyst Brands' Reno, Nevada distribution logistics center in a pilot operation that represents Figure AI's verified non-manufacturing deployment context. Catalyst Brands is the corporate parent of Forever 21, Brooks Brothers, Aeropostale, Lucky Brand, Nautica, and other retail brands under the SPARC Group restructuring. The Reno deployment is Figure's logistics-and-distribution operational reference, complementing the Figure 02 BMW Spartanburg manufacturing reference and demonstrating Figure's dual-vertical commercial strategy across two structurally distinct deployment contexts.

• What is the Atlas deployment at Hyundai Metaplant America?

  Boston Dynamics' Atlas humanoid is deployed at Hyundai Metaplant America's Savannah, Georgia EV manufacturing facility in a pilot operation that represents Atlas's verified enterprise customer relationship. The deployment is structurally distinguished by Hyundai's corporate-parent relationship with Boston Dynamics (Hyundai Motor Group acquired Boston Dynamics from SoftBank in 2021), creating a maker-customer relationship that differs from the arms-length customer relationships of cohort peers Figure-BMW, Apptronik-Mercedes, and Agility-GXO.

Current leadership (1)

• Milan Nedeljković CEOreported, not verified

Safety record

No incidents on record for BMW Group.

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Operated deployments (5)

• Figure 02Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA
• Figure 03Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA
• ABB IRB 6700United States
• AEONBMW Group Plant Leipzig
• Figure 02Spartanburg

Supplied by (1)

Inbound supply edges feeding this company directly or via the models it owns. Same source bar as the outbound view (verified against at least two strong sources).

Financial state

Reporting basis

aggregator_estimate

Lifecycle stage

mature

Counterparty risk class

low

Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.

Partnerships (1)

• BMW x Figure (Spartanburg) with Figure AIdeployment

Sources (10)

1. BMW Group press: humanoid robots in Germany (Plant Leipzig) · https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/global/article/detail/T0455864EN/bmw-group-to-deploy-humanoid-robots-in-production-in-germany-for-the-first-time?language=en ↗
2. BMW Group: humanoid robot in Leipzig · https://www.bmwgroup.com/en/news/general/2026/humanoid-robot-in-leipzig.html ↗
3. Figure AI: Production at BMW · https://www.figure.ai/news/production-at-bmw ↗
4. Assembly Magazine: Spartanburg pilot completion coverage · https://www.assemblymag.com/ ↗
5. Repairer Driven News: Spartanburg pilot completion coverage · https://www.repairerdrivennews.com/ ↗
6. IIoT World: Physical AI Deployment ROI: BMW's 30,000-car proof · https://www.iiot-world.com/artificial-intelligence-ml/robotics/physical-ai-deployment-roi-humanoid-robots/ ↗
7. The Next Web: BMW Group brings humanoid robots to Germany · https://thenextweb.com/ ↗
8. BMW Group 2026 Annual General Meeting materials · https://www.bmwgroup.com/en/investor-relations.html ↗
9. https://robotics.hexagon.com/bmw-deploys-aeon-hexagon-robotics-humanoid/ ↗
10. https://www.visit-bmwgroup.com/en/bmw-group-uses-humanoid-robots-in-production-in-germany-for-the-first-time/ ↗

Common questions

What is BMW Group?

BMW Group is the global automotive manufacturer whose Spartanburg plant hosted the world's first publicly-documented production-scale humanoid robot deployment in automotive manufacturing. Headquartered in Munich and listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, BMW operates a global production network across more than 30 sites in 15 countries, producing BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce vehicles. Following the completion of an 11-month Figure 02 pilot at Plant Spartanburg in November 2025, BMW formalized its physical-AI strategy through the establishment of the Center of Competence for Physical AI in Production, headquartered in Munich, and expanded humanoid deployments to Plant Leipzig in Germany with AEON robots from Hexagon Robotics. Milan Nedeljković, the executive who led BMW's humanoid program from the Spartanburg pilot through the Leipzig expansion, became BMW Group's CEO effective May 14, 2026.

What does BMW Group make?

BMW Group has no robot models recorded on the DEPLOY registry. BMW Group builds physical robots.

Where does BMW Group operate robots?

BMW Group operates 5 verified deployments, including at Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA, United States, BMW Group Plant Leipzig.

Is BMW Group a top robotics company?

On DEPLOY's intelligence score, which blends verified deployments, funding, hiring, media, safety, and IP signals, BMW Group ranks in roughly the top 2% of companies tracked by the registry.

When was BMW Group founded?

BMW Group was founded in 1916.