German carmaker BMW will spend almost $35 million to create a custom paint shop, UNN reports with reference to Autoblog.
Details
Luxury brands emphasize personalization to keep customers coming back, and when they do, they spend more money. A prime example is BMW, which recently announced an investment of over 30 million euros (34.9 million US dollars) in expanding the workshop at its assembly plant in Dingolfing, Germany.
The investment will go towards creating a new Special and Individual Paint Center, which will meet personalization requests. Although the main goal is to increase efficiency, the human factor will still be part of the process at this new facility, according to a BMW press release. The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for September this year, and the facility is expected to be commissioned in 2027.
The Special and Individual Paint Center, located south of the existing workshop at the Dingolfing plant, will occupy an area of approximately 21,000 square feet on two floors and will serve up to 10 employees. They will work side-by-side with robots: the initial layer of paint will be applied by machine, and any special touches, such as stripes, two-tone schemes, or other custom finishes, will be applied by hand. The finished paint will be dried by electric (rather than gas) heating, which will help reduce environmental impact. Then, a final clear coat will be applied on the main production line.
BMW offers customers a choice of up to 300 color shades, not counting special coatings for limited edition models. The new facility will improve the efficiency of the painting process for some small-batch cars, allowing more cars to leave the factory with custom paint, the automaker says. BMW expects a quarter reduction in production cycle time, as well as a reduction in the cost of the painted body.
Addition
BMW is not the only luxury brand that emphasizes personalization options. Mercedes-Benz recently opened a brand new factory for its Manufaktur division, which specializes in custom options and limited edition models. Cadillac has just announced its own personalization program, Curated by Cadillac, which will start with the release of a limited edition CT5-V Blackwing.