BMW’s Landshut and Wackersdorf plants awarded for lean, digital innovation

BMW Group’s Landshut and Wackersdorf plants receive 2025 Automotive Lean Production Award in Supplier category for combining lean management, digitalisation, and innovation.

BMW has been recognised for cockpit production at its Landshut and Wackersdorf plants, winning the Automotive Lean Production Award in the “Supplier” category. The jury highlighted the interplay of lean processes, digitalisation and innovation. The award will be presented at the 19th Automotive Lean Production Congress on 25–26 November 2025 in Poznań at the Volkswagen Poznań site.

This is a system win rather than a one-off. The cockpit value stream operates on a PULL principle, with self-regulating control loops feeding sequencing workstations to keep materials moving smoothly. At the end of the line, automated inspections with AI-supported camera systems detect and eliminate potential errors early. Shopfloor roles are evolving as well: the “mobile operator” strengthens human–machine collaboration and boosts flexibility.

The scale is tangible: every day, several thousand instrument panels and glove boxes leave the two component plants, supplying the BMW 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 Series as well as the BMW iX. The mix of technological know-how, high automation and AI-based quality checks underpins this output.

Here, “Lean before Digital” functions as an operating rule: robust, stable flows and standards come first, followed by digital layers. Management emphasises that combining refined processes, digital transformation and high quality standards delivers results and sets a benchmark for the industry.

The site context adds depth. Landshut is the BMW Group’s largest component plant, supplying parts to all BMW Group vehicle and engine plants worldwide, supported by a nearby Technology Centre involved early in new-model development. Wackersdorf, in addition to cockpit production and parts supply for overseas plants, opened the first phase of a new battery testing centre in 2024 and hosts a door and flap production centre for Rolls-Royce.

The regional picture is strong too: nearby Regensburg was named “Factory of the Year 2024” and turns out around 1,400 X1/X2 per workday. The plant is also piloting a thermal-oil system for heat generation in the paint shop, cutting approximately 480 tonnes of CO₂e annually—an efficiency push that aligns with this award.

What’s next? At the end of November, winners traditionally present their practices at the congress—from on-site plant tours to in-depth best-practice talks. For BMW, it is an opportunity to show how “Lean before Digital” scales across component manufacturing and to sharpen outcome metrics—from quality to supply-chain resilience.