Visiting the BMW facility was like something out of a movie. These big car companies are always talking about how they are transitioning from human employees to robots when it comes to building cars. I have always pictured what that would look like, but seeing it in person did not compare to the pictures in my head. I was surprised by the sheer size and number of the robots being used. They were all moving with a purpose, a mission to complete. It was quite interesting to see how the robots all worked together, moving the product from one to the next, each with its own task.
Before the tour, we met with Sara. She started off by giving us some statistics, providing a good overview of the company as a whole. To me, the most interesting statistic she showed us was the number of cars sold in 2025. They ended up selling 2.46 million cars. At first, I was surprised by how low the number was. I am not entirely sure what I was expecting the number to be, but only a couple of million was not it. Taking a second look at this number, though, it is a huge amount. One of the main topics she touched on was sustainability within the supply chain. She mentioned they purchase around 31% of their products from suppliers within Germany. This is mostly due to the level of standards already set by law regarding sustainability. I would be really interested in learning what laws and policies she is referring to and why sustainability is so important in Germany, but also globally. Another way they are trying to be more sustainable is by building their large production sites close to the main suppliers they buy from. I feel this really shows they are willing to put in the effort to become more sustainable.
Going and touring the BMW museum was one of the coolest things I have seen. I do not know much about cars, but I love looking at old cars. I was also really interested in the old F1 cars they had in the museum. After walking around the museum, we all took a trip to the old Olympic grounds. We were able to go into the aquatic center, and I was surprised to see swim practice going on. While most of the other buildings were out of use or just not open when we were there, it was interesting to see that it was the one they kept open to the public. Previously, I had heard about the Munich Massacre that happened to the athletes staying in the Olympic Village. Seeing all of the game sites in person makes me want to look more into the history that has taken place there.
