Automotive giant BMW Group hit a milestone of having had a million vehicles use automated driving during production, citing process optimisation and logistics efficiency gains from use of the technology.

The company starting using Automated Driving In-Plant (AFW) technology in a pilot held at a facility in Dingolfing, Germany during 2022. It since expanded use to Leipzig and Regensburg, also in Germany, and the Mini Plant in Oxford, UK.

BMW’s factory at Spartanburg in the US is next in-line to have the technology introduced, with the launch expected in 2027. It eventually expects to use AFW across its global production network.

“AFW has progressed from an innovative technology trial to a well-established, scalable standard application,” the company noted.

BMW estimates around 3,500 automated vehicle movements take place every day across its sites.

AFW shifts new vehicles around defined production and logistics areas using a combination of external sensors, cloud architecture and advanced motion planning software.

LiDAR sensors capture surroundings and aid vehicle navigation in real time.

The end result is new vehicles can “respond dynamically to people, other vehicles, driverless transport vehicles, logistics traffic and temporary obstacles”.

BMW board member responsible for production Raymond Wittmann said the company “recognised the potential of AFW early, tested it in a pilot phase and systematically developed it to series maturity”.

He added the adoption is an example of how BMW is “translating the vision” of its digital factory of the future “into industrial practice and driving the efficiency, digitalisation and intelligent connectivity” across its production processes.

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Orange CEO Christel Heydemann (pictured) pointed to developments across several operations in Europe and its enterprise offerings during an upbeat Q3 results discussion, a period in which its Middle East and Africa unit again provided a revenue boost.  

The executive noted progress in its strategic plan including the launch of new deals in France, sustained growth in its cybersecurity unit and integration of the operator formerly known as MasOrange in Spain following a buyout completed in June.

She also noted it obtained an extended SecNumCloud security and digital sovereignty qualification for Orange Business’ cloud offerings.

Although taking place after the end of the quarter, she highlighted a letter of intent inked with peers Telefonica, Vodafone Group and Deutsche Telekom to explore a joint bid for spectrum in Europe for mobile satellite services.

Heydemann said the “initiative supports the ambition to strengthen the sovereignty, security and resilience of Europe’s strategic infrastructure”.

Another ongoing strategic move by the operator is a proposed purchase of assets from Altice-owned French rival SFR as part of a wider deal with Bouygues Telecom and Free–Iliad Group.

Orange noted the deal is still expected to close in H2 2027, though added “while rulings are expected in proceedings brought by the works council within the Altice France group, Orange remains committed to constructive social dialogue, which is ongoing”.

Numbers
The operator booked revenue of €12.2 billion in Q3, up 3.6% year-on-year. It noted all geographic regions contributed to the increase: MEA was up 14%, Spain 3.5%, France just above flat and the rest of Europe up 5.3%.

“Africa and Middle East continued its remarkable growth, while Europe, particularly Poland, delivered solid results,” Heydemann said.

The company does not report net profit figures in Q3, but noted its EBITDaL was up 4.6% to €4.1 billion.

Its annual financial guidance for EBITDaL was raised from an expectation of above 4% to more than 4.5%.

“This third quarter confirms the strong momentum generated by our Trust the Future plan,” the CEO added.

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