The head of production at German carmaker BMW wants e-cars to zoom past their petrol competitors by giving the electric vehicles their own lane on the motorway.
Milan Nedeljković, BMW’s head of production, is also suggesting, in an article published on Saturday in the Münchner Merkur newspaper, special access to city centres and free parking for e-vehicles to boost demand.
“If you were constantly passed by electric cars while stuck in traffic, many would certainly consider switching,” Nedeljković said.
He said that such preferential treatment would be an alternative to the EU’s planned ban on combustion engines, adding that government purchase incentives in the long-term were not sensible.
Despite criticism of Germany as a production location, BMW is significantly increasing its production here, Nedeljković said. “We will build more than 1 million cars in Germany this year,” said Nedeljković, who is also on BMW’s board.
Last year, BMW produced 936,000 cars in its Dingolfing, Munich, Regensburg and Leipzig plants, while pushing out 729,000 in China, and 411,000 in the United States. That amounts to 2.66 million cars worldwide.
Nedeljković said the company had invested €5 billion (R100 billion) in German plants over the last five years and was profitable.
“But it is clear that competition is becoming increasingly difficult at our home base.” The reasons, he said, are bureaucracy, expensive energy and high location costs. The industry also needs a solid road network, reliable rail service and digital infrastructure, he added.
“Currently, however, we are experiencing an exodus of industrial companies, especially in the mid-sized sector and among suppliers. What we actually need is the exact opposite,” the BMW board member said – “namely the establishment of new technologies.”
Human-like robots used to produce cars
Meanwhile, the automaker BMW has revealed it was pioneering the use of human-like robots in car production. This was taking place at its US plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
The German automaker successfully tested the humanoid robot Figure 02, which places sheet metal parts in the body shop under real production conditions, over several weeks at the plant.
“The developments in the field of robotics are very promising, production director Milan Nedeljković said.
“With an early test operation, we are now determining the possible applications for humanoid robots in production.”
According to BMW, a particularly tactile ability is required for the production step in question.
The two-legged robot Figure 02, equipped with human-sized hands, can walk and place various complex parts with millimeter precision.
It is ideally suited for physically demanding, tiring, or unsafe tasks.
BMW and the California-based robot manufacturer Figure now plan to prepare it for future applications and develop it further.
– dpa
