Today, the German automobile giant, BMW has officially announced the opening of the new extended Dadong Plant in Shenyang, China jointly owned by the venture BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd (BBA).
The new extended Dadong plant is the first localization of BMW vehicles in China. It will mark the beginning of production of the new BMW X5 car wheelbase and also adopt the BMW principles of BMW iFACTORY. LEAN. GREEN. DIGITAL.
Upon the upgrading, the Dadong plant now has a footprint of 910,000m2 or nearly 125 football fields. It houses a press shop, a body shop, a paint shop, and a logistics and assembly facility with two independent manufacturing lines all under one roof. For underbody grabbing, the body shop is equipped with KUKA’s largest Titan robot, which has a loading capacity of 1.3 tonnes.
In addition, more money has been put into sustainability. Because about 80% of produced vehicles in Shenyang are delivered entirely or partially by rail, the plant in Dadong features the largest railway station of all BMW Group plant structures, with nine railway lines.
For circularity, the press shop provides a clean separation of scrap aluminum and steel, making a significant contribution to additional CO2 reduction. Plant Dadong’s paint shop has already reached 0% freshwater consumption, and energy efficiency is expected to improve much more.
The solar array at Plant Dadong has also been renovated. Its 179,000m2 of solar panels are expected to generate more than 21 MWh of sustainable energy this year. BBA Shenyang now has the largest solar panel system in Liaoning Province, with 290,000m2 of covered area.
Additionally, the plant has added more charging stations in the parking lots for employees to use.
The Dadong plant has also been upgraded in terms of digitalization. Digital projects with a clear benefit are implemented in five areas: the digital platform, planning, production, logistics, and campus. Data science, artificial intelligence, and virtual planning are giving automobile production new dimensions, making it faster, more exact, and more transparent, and raising efficiency, flexibility, sustainability, and quality to new heights.
Speaking about the new development, BMW AG Board Member for Production, Milan Nedeljkovi said, “Despite the challenges of the last three years, this complex construction project was completed fully on schedule. Our Chinese production sites are highly significant for the BMW Group. Last year almost one in every three BMW Group vehicles delivered around the world was manufactured in Shenyang.”
On the other hand, the President and CEO of BMW Brilliance, Franz Decker, noted that the company is resolved to lead from the front in China: green, lean, and digital! “In China, we are determined to lead from the forefront: green, lean, digital! Driven by technology and innovation we create more value for our customers. Building on 100 years of BMW manufacturing experience we build-up one of China’s most advanced and intelligent production sites here in Shenyang. Plant Dadong extension will once again set benchmarks on sustainability, productivity, digitalization and agility.”
