Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On August 21, BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. (BBA), a joint venture between BMW Group and Brilliance Auto, announced that its Plant Dadong in Shenyang Province, China, had surpassed a cumulative production milestone of 3.5 million vehicles. Opened in 2003 as BMW's first manufacturing base in China, the facility has grown into a cornerstone of the brand's local operations, embodying two decades of continuous advances in production technology.
Alongside this milestone, the locally built BMW 5 Series surpassed the 2-million-unit mark in cumulative output, cementing its status as the flagship model produced at BBA's Plant Dadong.
Since its introduction, the BMW 5 Series has combined dynamic performance with luxury refinement, maintaining a leading position in China's premium executive sedan segment and becoming one of BMW's most successful models in the country. Appropriately, the 3.5 millionth unit to roll off the line was a BMW 5 Series Shadow Edition, nicknamed the "Black Warrior".
The plant's manufacturing capabilities are instrumental in reaching this production record. The director of BBA's Plant Dadong Thomas Michel emphasized that the core mission was to deliver products with "zero defects", a goal pursued through full-process digitalization and an AI-driven production system that acted as the plant's "nervous system".
At the heart of this system is AI Quality Next (AIQX), a visual inspection platform that spans more than 30 production stations. Using high-resolution cameras, AIQX captures key manufacturing steps in real time, with cloud-based AI algorithms detecting potential defects and issuing instant feedback. The process allows precision monitoring from the moment an order is created to the vehicle's final assembly.
Paint quality, a hallmark of premium craftsmanship, has been pushed to new levels at BBA's Plant Dadong. For the BMW 5 Series alone — available in nine standard finishes such as "Tanzanite Blue" and five customized shades — each vehicle undergoes data collection of more than 100,000 images to analyze surface light and shadow before delivery. The AI system further reviews production data during off-hours, refining processes to enhance quality over time.
Yet behind the celebration lies a shifting market reality. In 2024, BBA's sales in China fell 15% year-on-year to 603,800 units, while exports dropped 37.3% year-on-year to 21,300 units, underscoring the dual challenge of intensifying competition in new energy vehicles and the contraction of the internal combustion vehicle segment.
Against this backdrop, Plant Dadong's manufacturing upgrades serve as a vital pillar in reinforcing BMW's luxury positioning in China. With Birgit Böhm-Wannenwetsch succeeding as CEO of BBA on August 1, and the Shenyang production hub — which includes both Plant Dadong and Plant Tiexi — set to reach the 5-million-unit mark in total output this year, the company is doubling down on its BMW iFACTORY strategy. By advancing lean, green, and digitalized production, BMW aims to accelerate its local transformation and navigate the industry's ongoing upheaval.
