Leipzig. “Cars as colourful as us” – That’s the motto
of an associate initiative to raise awareness among the team of
diversity at BMW Group Plant Leipzig. But this motto is now gaining an
additional meaning as the automotive world in Leipzig welcomes a
wealth of new paint options. Starting today, the plant is finishing
vehicles in Individual paintwork as well. The first BMW 1 Series and
BMW 2 Series Gran Coupes for those who prefer less ordinary colours
are resplendent in Speed Yellow, San Marino Blue, Verde Ermes Green
and Nardo Grey.
Black and white are still among the most popular colours for cars,
but customers are increasingly seeking more expressive and individual
paintwork. Dealerships now offer 160 Individual colour options for the
BMW 1 Series and BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe, which are going down well
with customers despite the surcharge for matt and Individual finishes.
Leipzig’s order books for vehicles with Individual finishes have
filled up nicely until the end of the year, and the next major order
is for 180 BMW 118d vehicles in Hockenheim Silver, Ruby Red and Sepia
Violet for BMW Japan.
The lead time for special finishes in a preferred Individual colour
is about ten weeks. Customers can even create their own colours, which
will be specially mixed and used on their car only.
So that Individual finishes can be applied to smaller model series
too, the existing system has now been upgraded to handle the special
paints. In addition, new paint supply systems and a new mixing area
have been integrated. The paintshop can now paint five vehicles a day
in colours from the Individual range.
The integration of the special new colours means extra service and
supervision work for the paintshop team compared with what’s needed
for standard finishes. Some processes, such as sign-off, can no longer
be carried out by automated means and have to be performed manually
instead, so the paintshop team has been expanded. For matt finishes
the process is especially time-consuming and complex, as defects
cannot be treated in the conventional way that is used with gloss
finishes. Instead, each matt-finished car takes 30 minutes longer to
prepare. There are currently two matt colour options: Frozen Black and
Frozen Orange.
Individual paint finishes may only just be starting at Plant Leipzig,
but already the orders are revealing a few special favourites:
yellows, blues, reds and violet shades are especially popular at the
moment, bringing plenty of colour not only to the streets but also to
Plant Leipzig’s paintshop and production lines.
The full range of options can be experienced via the BMW Individual Visualiser: