MUNICH—BMW AG has unveiled Automated Driving In-Plant (AFW) technology at its assembly plant in Dingolfing, Germany. BMW 5 Series and 7 Series sedans drive fully autonomously along a route of more than 1 kilometer from the production line to the finishing area via a “short test course.”

This is made possible by lidar sensors installed along the route. Regardless of a vehicle’s equipment options, the system controls all movements, using state-of-the-art cloud architecture.

“AFW optimizes our production process and delivers significant efficiency gains for our logistics,” says Milan Nedeljković, a member of the BMW board of management responsible for production. “That is why we will be swiftly rolling out this technology throughout our production network.”

BMW plans to expand its use of AFW technology to other areas of production, such as for driving through the testing zone and outdoor distribution areas. Another key factor in expanding the technology is the increasing use of on-board technology, which will support the external sensors in the long term.

“Over the next 10 years, we will log several million test kilometers with AFW in our production network alone,” says Nedeljković. “In this way, the BMW Group is once again setting a new benchmark for automation and digitalization of its production processes, while paving the way for future applications in the field of autonomous driving.”