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BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina plant now has humanoid robots walking its factory floors. The German automaker has deployed Figure AI’s Figure 03 humanoid robot at its Plant Spartanburg facility, replacing the earlier Figure 02 model that spent 11 months proving the concept wasn’t science fiction. During that trial period, the Figure 02 units racked up over 1,250 operating hours and moved more than 90,000 components, contributing to the production of over 30,000 BMW X3 vehicles.
From pilot project to production reality
The Figure 02 robots arrived at Spartanburg around mid-2025, tasked with logistics sequencing on the assembly lines. After 11 months of operation, BMW retired the Figure 02 units and brought in the Figure 03 model starting in June 2026. BMW used insights from the Figure 02 deployment to improve the capabilities of the newer model, essentially treating the first phase as a massive, real-world training exercise.
The Spartanburg pilot represents the first worldwide application of humanoid robots within BMW’s production process. Ulrich Wieland, BMW’s VP of production control and logistics, and Milan Nedeljkovic, Board Member for Production, have both been closely involved with the initiative. The project falls under BMW’s broader iFACTORY strategy, which aims to integrate what the company calls “Physical AI” into manufacturing processes, with a focus specifically on tasks that are ergonomically challenging or repetitive for human workers.
The expansion is already underway
Following the success of the South Carolina pilot, BMW is extending humanoid robotics deployments to its Leipzig, Germany facility. The Leipzig operation will use Hexagon Robotics’ AEON platform rather than Figure AI’s robots, suggesting BMW is testing multiple humanoid systems across different sites.
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