BMW Motorrad Bets Big on Berlin With €50M Investment
Start of production at the new paint shop, BMW Group Berlin Plant. (From left to right) Christopher Wolff, BMW employee at the new paint shop; Kai Wegner, Governing Mayor of Berlin; Michael Stockerl, Head of the Paint Shop; Helmut Schramm, Head of Production at BMW Motorrad; Frank Bewig, District Mayor of Berlin-Spandau; Sebastian Wührmann, Overall Project Manager for the new paint shop. © BMW Group
BMW Motorrad is making a bold statement about Berlin's future as an industrial hub. The company has opened a brand-new, state-of-the-art paint shop at the BMW Group plant in Spandau, backed by an investment of over €50 million. According to BMW Motorrad's own press release, this is the largest single investment by BMW AG in motorcycle production since the logistics center was built on the same site back in 2015.
The numbers are impressive. The new facility covers around 4,300 square meters and can handle up to 1.3 million components per year, painting roughly 90 different parts in 20 colors. Fully automated robots run on a tight 57-second cycle to keep production moving.
But it is not just about speed and scale. The plant has been designed with sustainability front and center. A dry overspray separation system replaces the traditional water-based method, eliminating wet paint sludge entirely. The result, according to the press release, is an expected reduction in water consumption of around 86 percent and waste volumes of around 89 percent compared to the existing facility. Energy use is projected to drop by about 47 percent thanks to recirculating air in the paint booths and heat recovery via heat pumps. Altogether, CO₂ emissions from the painting process are expected to fall by roughly 85 percent.
Helmut Schramm, Head of BMW Motorrad Production, called it "a strong signal for Berlin and for BMW Motorrad." Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner added that the investment secures jobs and know-how in the city while pushing forward resource-efficient production.
The Berlin plant, which has been manufacturing BMW motorcycles since 1969, employs over 2,600 people and produces more than 157,000 vehicles annually.
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