I was invited to BMW’s huge, sprawling factory in Leipzig to document MINIs and BMWs on the production line. Each day, a team of over 9,000 workers produces up to 1,300 cars. This place is big.
The central hub of the factory, designed by Zaha Hadid and opened in 2005, houses the administrative departments and connects different parts of the factory. Partially completed cars move over the heads of the office workers as they go about their day.
The cars are produced in the order they come in from the dealership. The process starts with huge sheets of metal, which are stamped into doors, windows and other car parts by massive machines. When they enter the production line, robots weld these pieces together depending on the car being produced and the specifications of the car. Before painting, the cars are brushed with emu feathers - apparently, only emu feathers have the exact specifications to remove the dust and prepare the cars for painting. The robots that paint the cars change colour between each car. There is a red BMW, then a green MINI, then a blue BMW, and the robots know exactly which car is coming when and change the setup accordingly.
Once the cars are painted, they enter the human part of the production line. People outfit the cars as they move along, adding the seats, the sound system, all the electronics, the windows and so on. At each point in the process, the exact parts for that car arrive to the person fitting them at the same time as the car. Finally, the engine and undercarriage come along on a little robot truck and glide, in perfect synchronisation, into position underneath the car.
It is very satisfying to watch.