Every single BMW car that is built, is built to order. You can literally have no two BMWs the same. The ones on dealer lots have been ordered by the dealers, who have an idea on what combinations sell well.
I visited the factory in Munich and you can see a big line of doors, seats, carpets, etc feeding up to the assembly line. Each is computer controlled, and when the intended vehicle gets to the seat install station, the correct seat (style, fabric, RHD/LHD) meets the correct car. When the doors arrive, they've got the right interior bits already in them, and all the wiring loom bits match up with what is already in the car, even if the prior 20 cars have all had different options (color, trim, options, etc).
Meanwhile, at the back of the factory, JIT delivery trucks are delivering the next set of seats/steering wheels/seatbelts etc - all barcoded, all ready to be loaded onto the assembly lines in the correct order.
It's truly eye-opening to watch a highly automated factory like this in operation. When a dealer in the USA presses the 'order' button - suppliers, factory, workers - everything lines up and out pops a fully finished, completely unique car.
I visited the factory in Munich and you can see a big line of doors, seats, carpets, etc feeding up to the assembly line. Each is computer controlled, and when the intended vehicle gets to the seat install station, the correct seat (style, fabric, RHD/LHD) meets the correct car. When the doors arrive, they've got the right interior bits already in them, and all the wiring loom bits match up with what is already in the car, even if the prior 20 cars have all had different options (color, trim, options, etc).
Meanwhile, at the back of the factory, JIT delivery trucks are delivering the next set of seats/steering wheels/seatbelts etc - all barcoded, all ready to be loaded onto the assembly lines in the correct order.
It's truly eye-opening to watch a highly automated factory like this in operation. When a dealer in the USA presses the 'order' button - suppliers, factory, workers - everything lines up and out pops a fully finished, completely unique car.