BMW puts a wheeled humanoid robot to work in its Leipzig plant

LEIPZIG, Germany, September 2026 — BMW has started using a humanoid robot in German car production for the first time. Here's what launched, what it cost, and what went wrong.

Cost and outcome (as of Sept. 21, 2026)

Status: AEON "delivers materials to the line," BMW says, in a pilot. (BMW Group)
Results: none published for Leipzig. Hexagon says AEON will be "deployed in production by the end of 2026." (Hexagon Robotics)
Cost: not disclosed.

What launched

BMW announced the Leipzig pilot on Feb. 27, 2026, calling it the first time it has brought "Physical AI," robots driven by AI, to Europe. After a desk assessment and lab tests, AEON had its first test run at the plant in December 2025. More testing was planned from April 2026, with the pilot phase starting that summer.

BMW said the robot would be used in high-voltage battery assembly and in making components, including battery production for energy modules and exterior parts. The BBC reported that two robots were planned to work in production from the summer, feeding parts to machines and doing pick-and-place work for battery assembly.

On June 15, 2026, Hexagon said AEON had begun "performing production tasks" at Leipzig while training for future ones. It said battery assembly work was expected to move from the plant's Innovation Garage onto the factory floor. In September, BMW's plant feature said AEON delivers materials to the line, steering around obstacles.

The robot

BMW describes AEON as 1.65 meters tall and 60 kilograms. The BBC reported it can carry 15 kilograms briefly or 8 kilograms continuously, has 21 sensors, and runs about three hours per battery. It is designed to swap its own battery in about three minutes, the BBC said. BMW trained it with teleoperation and with simulation in a digital twin of the factory, using Nvidia software, according to the BBC.

Hexagon's Robert told the BBC that imitation learning, where a robot learns by watching how people do a task, can cut training time from months to days.

"It makes more sense on a shop floor [to have wheels] because Aeon can roll around from one place to the other," Nikolaides told the BBC.

Why BMW is doing it

BMW frames humanoids as an add-on to existing automation, aimed at repetitive or physically demanding jobs. It set up a Center of Competence for Physical AI in Production to evaluate robot makers and run pilots. Nikolaides told the BBC he expects staff shortages "in a matter of years."

BMW says an earlier pilot at its Spartanburg, S.C., plant with Figure AI's Figure 02 helped build more than 30,000 BMW X3s over ten months. BMW says that pilot also led to revised safety concepts, with extra barriers and partitions, and better 5G coverage in the hall. Its successor, Figure 03, is next due to sort parts for logistics there.

Gartner analyst Bill Ray was skeptical of the hype in general. "The primary use case for a humanoid robot today is to walk on stage and artificially inflate your share price," he told the BBC.

What went wrong

No numbers yet. BMW has published no Leipzig results.
Mixed details. The BBC gave a different job title for Nikolaides. It also put AEON's top speed at 2.4 meters per second (BBC); BMW says up to 2.5 meters per second (BMW Group).
What we don't know yet: the cost, how many robots are working, and how often people step in.

Our follow-up question for BMW

How many AEON robots are working in Leipzig production now, and what share of their tasks do they finish without help?

Sources

BMW Group, “BMW Group to deploy humanoid robots in production in Germany for the first time,” Feb. 27, 2026. press.bmwgroup.com
Hexagon Robotics, “BMW deploys the humanoid robot AEON in production sites in Germany,” Feb. 27, 2026. robotics.hexagon.com
BBC News, Sean McManus, “BMW says humanoid robots are the future of car production,” May 28, 2026. bbc.com
Hexagon Robotics, “New milestone with BMW Group: industrial humanoid deployment,” June 15, 2026. robotics.hexagon.com
BMW Group, “Leipzig debut: BMW Group introduces humanoid robots – a first in Germany,” Sept. 21, 2026. bmwgroup.com

Disclosure: [not in copy] Editor placeholder