In what can only be seen as a remarkable development in flexible automobile manufacturing, BMW has restructured its
Spartanburg, South Carolina from a two-line setup to a single line assembly system. With this development, BMW will be
able to produce two radically different models on the same line– Z4 roadsters and X5 SUVs.The new setup will allow the
plant more fluid model combinations– it will be able to produce from 100-percent X5s to a 60-percent/40-percent
split between Z4s and X5s.
Line employees were trained offsite beginning last November when the final pre-facelift Z4s rolled off the line and
the line reworking began in earnest.
The new system is so flexible that it will most likely accommodate a third model in the form of the Mercedes-Benz
R-Class fighting X6 (essentially a large lux’d-out minivan) that’s expected for 2008.
BMW’s Spartanburg plant just observed building their one-millionth car
earlier this month.
[Source: JustAuto.com]