Premium Experience Created through Manufacturing
All-New BMW 5 Series Long-Wheelbase Transcends Industry Benchmarks in Pursuit of Premium Quality

• Adhering to the highest standards, committed to delivering benchmark premium quality to every Chinese user.
• Beyond generating satisfying photos, 100 AI-aided production technologies ensure premium quality tailored to a premium vehicle.
• State-of-the-art joining technologies offer an impeccably solid car body.

Shenyang/Beijing. The all-new BMW 5 Series long-wheelbase, officially unveiled at the Auto Guangzhou 2023, introduces an unparalleled design paradigm within its class and sets a new standard for intelligence, opulence, and comfort comparable to BMW's flagship models. Additionally, the revolutionary BMW i5 is offered for the first time in this historic generation of the 5 Series, defining the benchmark for premium mid-to-large battery electric vehicles. The benchmark premium quality embodied by the latest model stems from a robust R&D framework and rigorous validation and testing and is underscored by cutting-edge production techniques and a production philosophy of seeking ultimate precision.

Adhering to the Highest Standards to Deliver Benchmark Premium Quality

Before beginning series production, the all-new BMW 5 Series long-wheelbase underwent an arduous journey in R&D and validation tests. A full-process trial of the production line was also conducted, so as to guarantee high quality experience for users. Throughout the one-year pilot production, BMW exercised rigorous control over processes and adhered to the highest standards transcending industry benchmarks to continuously improve the quality of components and the vehicle, as well as optimize the parameters of production equipment, ultimately ensuring that the vehicle readiness and the process maturity fully meet standards set for mass production.

BMW has integrated CUBING technology for every forthcoming model, employing an approach with almost zero tolerances through the creation of a full-size car body to ensure an exact alignment of component dimensions with the design specifications. CUBING embodies BMW's "zero defects" philosophy, acting as an extremely precise gauge measuring the quality of components. Even the slightest deviation in dimensions or drilling positions of body parts cannot match the exacting standards set by CUBING. BMW not only invests significantly in crafting CUBING with aerospace grade aluminum alloy and high-precision techniques, but also ensures its constant storage in a controlled environment with stable temperature and humidity. This precaution is designed to avoid any environmental impact on measurement accuracy.

To optimize the production line, the body shop needed to carry out pilot production of over 1,000 cars and verify quality indicators such as the strength of every weld point and joint. BMW also invested in transporting trial-produced vehicles with flawless weld points and joints to headquarters in Germany for dynamic corrosion experiments. These vehicles were subjected to driving in various highly corrosive environments and immersion in water. All components would be disassembled to examine the corrosion, ensuring that the vehicles exhibit exceptional corrosion resistance.

Beyond GPT, AI also Creates Quality, Intelligent, and Premium Mobility Experience

The BMW Shenyang production base, the birthplace of the all-new BMW 5 Series long-wheelbase, stands as a pioneer in BMW iFACTORY production strategy, perfectly aligning with the lean, green, and digital production philosophy for the future. The plant boasts world-class manufacturing processes, production standards that exceed the industry benchmark, and BMW's commitment to high quality, all of which contribute to the premium quality of the all-new BMW 5 Series long-wheelbase. Currently, the Shenyang production base has implemented around 100 applications of AI technology. AI is instrumental in elevating the standard of quality control and consistency, facilitating real-time process monitoring and instantaneous data analysis.

The press shop at Plant Dadong boasts industry leading 6-stage servo press line with an industry-first AI-aided smart quality inspection system. The production of the all-new BMW 5 Series long-wheelbase utilizes industrial cameras which records the surface condition of press parts at an impressive speed of 35 frames per second. With over 2 million high-definition photos taken daily, its total data volume is equivalent to 1,000 HD Blu-Ray movies. The "tireless" AI-aided smart quality inspection system independently developed by BMW can inspect every component on the production line and complete the analysis of a single photo in just 0.01 seconds. With continuous improvement, its inspection accuracy approaches nearly 100%. Even the tiny gaps invisible to the naked eyes can be found, ensuring the optimal components for subsequent production stages.

Following the completion of the body-in-white (BIW), the all-new BMW 5 Series long-wheelbase takes its distinctive form and proceeds to the paint shop, where it will soon receive an exquisite coating. The all-new BMW 5 Series long-wheelbase offers a copper grey metallic paint. The uniform dispersion of 5-30 µm-diameter copper-gold pearlescent particles within the paint imparts a captivating brilliance, creating a dazzling sparkle that is accentuated under both artificial and natural light. To ensure this breathtaking hue, Plant Dadong employs cutting-edge AI-aided adhesive application and surface coat polishing technologies, which guarantees that the paint finish on every BMW is consistently delicate and flawlessly exquisite. Enabled by AI technology, three robots of the automatic optical inspection (AOI) device capture over 100,000 photos for each car. With an inspection accuracy of 0.01 mm, they identify impurities, fibers, scratches and other minor process defects, and mark the positions requiring further adjustment on the paint finish with laser. It is hand-polished to the optimum condition by experienced production line workers, ensuring that the paint finish on every BMW meets the standards of premium quality.

State-of-the-Art Joining Technologies Offer an Impeccably Solid Car Body

The parts enter the body shop and undergo a metamorphosis into the strong body of the all-new BMW 5 Series long-wheelbase enabled by the highly automated robots. Here, a cohort of 1047 robots orchestrates 19 world-class state-of-the-art joining processes, including welding, riveting, screwing, and adhesive application. More than 430 components made of 30 materials are jointed to complete the body-in-white (BIW), with an automation rate of over 95%. Each robot and welding gun is connected to the IoT platform which utilizes AI technology for data collection and analysis, ensuring precise body dimensions. Any thickness deviation in the body components exceeding 0.1 millimeters is considered unacceptable and needs rework.

As a crucial part of the body joining process, adhesive application involves the bonding both similar and different materials, and plays a pivotal role in enhancing body strength, safety, corrosion resistance, shock absorption, noise reduction, and lightweight performance. Consequently, its meticulous execution holds a profound influence on the premium mobility experience. The all-new BMW 5 Series long-wheelbase uses adhesive length surpassing industry averages. This not only contributes to optimizing the overall performance of the car body, but also mitigates potential expensive maintenance costs for users.

Crafted through a high-standard R&D and testing system, as well as advanced and intelligent production techniques, the all-new BMW 5 Series long-wheelbase showcases BMW's legacy of pursuing a premium experience. It promises users an exceptionally intelligent and deluxe travel experience with benchmark premium quality.