BMW says one humanoid robot worked at a time, off-hours. Figure's CEO had said "fleet."

From the archive. First reported by Fortune, April 2025. Where it stands now: Still running, as of August 2026, Automotive Logistics, Aug. 25, 2026. Why I saved this: Figure's CEO described a fleet doing "end-to-end operations"; BMW said one robot worked at a time, and only off-hours until March. The gap between those two accounts is the lesson for me.

Previously

In August 2024, BMW said a Figure 02 humanoid robot had "successfully inserted sheet metal parts into specific fixtures" during a trial "lasting several weeks" in the body shop at Plant Spartanburg, S.C. BMW released no speed, cost or uptime figures and said the two companies were preparing the robot for "future applications in production."

SPARTANBURG, S.C., April 2025 — BMW Group Plant Spartanburg has had a Figure humanoid robot back at the plant on a single body-shop task. Here's what changed since Part 1 (August 2024), what it cost, and what went wrong.

Cost and outcome (as of April 2025)

Cost: Not disclosed. Fortune reports the January 2024 deal was "milestone-based," with terms not made public. (Fortune)
Robots on site: One at a time, per BMW. It wouldn't say whether more than one was at the plant. (Fortune)
Hours: Off-hours only until sometime in March 2025, per BMW. (Fortune)
Since March: The work "has moved into live production hours," still one robot on the same task, Fortune reports, citing the spokesperson. (Fortune)
Performance data: None published.

What Figure's CEO said

In February, Adcock wrote on LinkedIn: "We currently have a fleet of robots performing end-to-end operations." In early March, speaking at a conference, he said: "We actually have them running everyday now," "running in their largest plant." He also posted a video captioned "This isn't a test," Fortune reports. A second robot in that video stands idle.

What BMW said

BMW spokesperson Steve Wilson gave Fortune a narrower picture. One Figure robot worked at Spartanburg at any given time. Pressed, he wouldn't say whether that meant one robot on site or several taking turns. Until sometime in March, it worked only during non-production hours, when the line isn't building cars. BMW had said the robot would "very soon" begin loading parts "for short intervals during live production." By April, Fortune reported, the work "has moved into live production hours," with one robot on the same chore.

Wilson described the job. The robot takes parts "with two hands from a logistics container" and places them onto a fixture, where another robot welds them. A fixture is a jig that holds parts in position. That's the same kind of placement task BMW described in August 2024.

The difference between off-hours and live production matters on a plant floor. Off-hours, the line is stopped, so a slow or stalled robot costs nothing. During live production, every station has to keep pace with the line, and a robot that stops can hold up the cars behind it. Short intervals during live production are the first real test of whether the robot can keep up.

Fortune asked BMW about the gap between the two accounts. BMW declined to comment. Figure didn't respond.

What's changed

The robot is back. After the 2024 trial, a Figure robot returned to the body shop.
The scale is clearer. BMW's spokesperson put it at one robot at a time. Rate Figure's "fleet of robots performing end-to-end operations" Disputed, based on BMW's own account. Editor's note: BMW's account (one robot at a time, off-hours until March) and Figure's ("fleet," "end-to-end operations") can't both describe the same work. BMW declined to comment on the gap; Figure didn't respond to Fortune.
The money is bigger. Fortune reports Figure had raised more than $700 million, and that Reuters reported Figure was trying to raise $1.5 billion at a valuation near $40 billion.
A public event is planned. Fortune reports BMW planned a press event in May.

Why it matters for operators

When a vendor says "fleet" and "every day," ask the plant. Here, the customer described one robot at a time, one task and, until weeks earlier, no live production. That's still a real step from a weeks-long trial. It just isn't what the vendor's posts described. For anyone buying humanoids, the plant's own account is the one to plan around.

What went wrong

The vendor's claims ran ahead of the customer's. "Fleet" and "end-to-end operations" didn't match BMW's description of one robot at a time, mostly off-hours.
No absolute numbers. In November 2024, Figure CEO Brett Adcock posted that Figure 02 was "400% faster with 7x higher success rate" on its BMW use case. BMW's LinkedIn post said those results came "in a simulated production environment" at Figure's lab. Neither has published cycle time, uptime, error rate or cost.
No answers on the gap. BMW declined to comment, and Figure didn't respond.
What we don't know yet: exactly when the robot moved to live production, for how long each shift, and how often a person had to step in.

Our follow-up question for BMW Manufacturing

Once the robot is loading parts during live production, how many hours per shift will it run, and how many times will an associate have to step in?

Sources

Jason Del Rey, “Is Figure AI's BMW robot partnership what its founder Brett Adcock says?” Fortune, April 6, 2025. fortune.com
BMW Group, “Successful test of humanoid robots at BMW Group Plant Spartanburg,” Aug. 6, 2024. press.bmwgroup.com
Brett Adcock, LinkedIn post, “UPDATE: Figure x BMW. Figure 02 is now an autonomous fleet, 400% faster with 7x higher success rate,” Nov. 19, 2024. linkedin.com
BMW Group, LinkedIn post, “The Future Starts Today: Advancing with Humanoid Robots in Production,” Nov. 26, 2024. linkedin.com
Marcus Williams, Automotive Logistics, “Figuring out humanoid logistics at Spartanburg,” Aug. 25, 2026. automotivelogistics.media
Earlier in this series: Part 1. /case/bmw-figure-humanoid-test

Disclosure: [not in copy] Editor placeholder