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Production at BMW Plant Dingolfing alongside the other BMW 5 Series models, as well as the BMW 6 Series and BMW 7 Series.
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Production of the high-performance V8 engine in the V engine production halls at BMW Plant Munich.
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BMW M5 built at the world’s largest BMW plant since 1998, innovative product and process modules raise quality and efficiency to another new level.
The new BMW M5 is an extraordinarily individual car, whose production sees traditional handcraftsmanship and cutting-edge manufacturing processes blended precisely to deliver not only unbeatable quality but also manufacturing efficiency. The new high-performance sedan will be built at BMW Plant Dingolfing. The BMW Group’s largest production facility worldwide also produces the BMW 7 Series luxury Sedan, the BMW 6 Series Coupé and Convertible, and all the models in the BMW 5 Series range.
Thanks to this manufacturing concept, the new BMW M5 also benefits from the use of shared product and process modules across the three model series which allow the production processes to run even more efficiently and standards of build quality to be further optimised.
The integrated manufacture of the new BMW M5 also includes the production and assembly of the model’s bespoke chassis, body and interior components. The high-performance engine of the new M5 is built in a traditional process at BMW Plant Munich. On the special engine production line at Munich, highly qualified specialists and special manufacturing processes ensure the extremely precise manufacture of the most technically sophisticated engines in the BMW Group portfolio.
V engine production: cutting-edge technology meets precision craftsmanship.
The special engine production line at the BMW Group’s home plant has served as the birthplace of many BMW M car engines down the years. The current M3 engine and the new M5 powerplant are built on the new V (flex) production line alongside the 12-cylinder units for the BMW 760i and the latest Rolls-Royce models. High-tech processes and the precision craftsmanship of experienced experts guarantee an outstanding level of quality. For example, particularly high standards of surface quality and extremely tight production tolerances are enforced for the high-revving M car engines.
The engine block and crankcase of the V8 engine for the new BMW M5 are produced in the light-alloy foundry at BMW Plant Landshut. The initial stage of assembly at Plant Munich sees the basic engines attached to system carriers, each with their own integrated data storage device. This allows quality-related data to be called up during the assembly process. Taking the tightening torque of bolts as an example, once this data has been retrieved the relevant assembly program is then activated on the automated screwing machine. At all subsequent assembly stations the data for each particular engine help ensure that employees use the right tools and apply the correct tightening torque. In addition, core components such as cylinder heads and connecting rods are coded. This allows their progression from arrival at the factory through to final assembly to be followed precisely. The manufacturing process is rounded off by a function test on the test bench which each and every engine has to pass before it can make it through the gates of
BMW Plant Dingolfing.
Integrated production optimises quality and efficiency.
The shared vehicle architecture for the BMW 5 Series, 6 Series and 7 Series models forms the basis for integrated production at BMW Plant Dingolfing. Manufacturing quality and efficiency are optimised through the use of shared product and process modules. The flexible set-up of the production machinery also allows the number of individual parts in overall production to be continuously varied according to demand. This ensures both even capacity utilisation across the plant and rapid delivery as part of the Customer-Oriented Sales and Production Process.
Synergies are generated by the use of modular vehicle components, or product modules. The benchmark for the functionality and quality of these components is provided by the extremely high standards that apply for the BMW 7 Series luxury Sedan.
Ongoing improvement of the production process.
BMW Plant Dingolfing operates according to the very latest principles of modern production process design and in line with the BMW Value-Added Production System (VPS). Process-sharing is a typical example of this approach. Shared vehicle components for the BMW 7 Series, BMW 5 Series and the new BMW 6 Series provide the basis for using integrated production processes, in which top-quality multi-model production on a single assembly line is combined with integrated production planning. Further advances are achieved through developments in the area of Value-Added Technology Processes (VTP) and logistics. The end goal is to achieve one-piece flow of parts and materials from the supplier through to the completion of the vehicle.
In technological terms as well, the accent is on developing innovative production techniques which can be applied across several different model series and thus across higher production volumes. For example, the door production process is based on the results of research work carried out at the Dingolfing-based BMW Group Aluminium Competence Centre. Newly developed aluminium processing technology also helps ensure good surface formability of sophisticated design features such as the character line in the doors.
Innovative processes have been introduced in sheet steel processing too.
50 million euros has been invested here on two new sheet steel presses which are now turning out exceptionally high-quality body parts for models, including the new BMW M5. With the first of the two new presses installed at the Dingolfing plant, BMW became the world’s first carmaker to use an innovative hot-stamping technique whereby galvanised sheet steel is cold-formed, heated to a temperature of over 900 degrees Celsius, then immediately cooled to a temperature of around 70 degrees and hardened. The cooling is performed in a press with integrated water cooling and takes just a few seconds. This technique gives the components between three and four times the strength of conventional sheet steel.
The BMW plant in Dingolfing, Lower Bavaria, has been part of the company’s global production network since 1967. Today this network comprises
25 plants in 14 countries across five continents. 1973 saw the start of BMW vehicle production at the newly constructed Plant 2.4 in Dingolfing. Numerous awards are proof that the world’s largest BMW production plant sets very high standards. More than 8 million BMW cars have been built in Dingolfing to date. Approximately 18,600 people currently work at the site, more than 12,000 of them in car production at Plant 2.4. The BMW M5 has been produced in Dingolfing since 1998.
