ABB Ships 1,700-Plus Robots to BMW for Neue Klasse Output

ABB Robotics is supplying more than 1,700 large industrial robots to BMW Group for the Neue Klasse vehicle generation, the company announced on November 11, 2026. The order covers body-shop production at BMW plants in Munich, Germany, and Tiexi, China, with Munich building the new fully electric Neue Klasse models.

The robots will handle welding, gluing, riveting and assembly. ABB frames the deal around higher efficiency, precision and production sustainability across both plants.

"Our collaboration with the BMW Group underscores a shared vision of flexible and future-proof production," said Joerg Reger, Automotive Business Line Manager at ABB Robotics. Reger tied the robot and control package to manufacturing digitalization as well as precision, efficiency and energy savings.

Which robots are going in?

The delivery spans three large-robot families. ABB's product documentation lists the family-level maxima, with the top payload and the longest reach sitting on different variants:

• IRB 6720 — 240 kg maximum payload, 3.2 m maximum reach. Documented automotive uses include high-precision body assembly, spot welding and gluing.
• IRB 6740 — 310 kg maximum payload, 3.2 m maximum reach.
• IRB 7720 — 620 kg maximum payload, 3.5 m maximum reach. Documented uses cover high-payload assembly and handling, electric-vehicle batteries, press tending and friction stir welding.

Together, the families handle both precise body-assembly work and heavier lifting.

Standardized components run across ABB's large-robot platforms. The IRB 7720 shares its modular design and footprint with the IRB 67X0 family, which ABB says enables faster, more flexible installation when robots change on production lines. For BMW's two-plant deployment, that shared footprint plus a common control system creates one mechanical basis for line changes in Munich and Tiexi alike.

What does OmniCore change?

Every robot in the delivery runs on the latest generation of ABB's OmniCore controller. ABB describes it as a unified system for motion, force and sensor applications, with integrated sensor and AI processing, connectivity and cybersecurity. It also supports cloud and edge technologies, giving the deployment its AI and sensor-integration layer as well as its motion control.

On precision, ABB reports path accuracy down to 0.6 millimeters at speeds up to 1,600 millimeters per second for OmniCore-controlled robots. These are product specifications, not measured BMW production results. For repetitive welding and assembly operations, they describe the controller's intended pairing of precise path following with high-speed movement.

How much energy does it save?

OmniCore's regeneration technology returns power to the grid. ABB rates it for up to 20% energy savings compared with its predecessor. For the IRB 7720 specifically, the combined robot-and-controller design carries a rating of up to 30% energy reduction. The two percentages describe different product scopes, not an aggregate saving across BMW's fleet.

Commissioning speed matters as much as energy here. Integrated communication protocols and pre-engineered software can shorten commissioning from weeks to days, according to ABB. The BMW deployment also pairs OmniCore with a commissioning system built to cut the production start-up phase.

Why does one architecture across two plants matter?

The order ties BMW's Neue Klasse ramp-up to a common control architecture spanning Germany and China. That makes manufacturing flexibility, commissioning and energy recovery part of the same body-shop program as welding and assembly capacity.

The scale — 1,700-plus large robots across two continents before the first Neue Klasse models reach volume production — signals how much automation BMW is betting on for its electric pivot. If the standardized platform delivers the fast line changes ABB promises, expect the architecture to anchor future BMW plant conversions too.