Humanoids Face a Factory Cost Test

Single-source brief: BMW plans a Figure 03 deployment after a Figure 02 pilot, but factory-scale economics remain unclear.

What changed

BMW said it will deploy Figure 03 humanoids at its Spartanburg, South Carolina, plant.

The move follows a successful Figure 02 pilot, according to BMW Group.

That is a deployment step, not proof of broad factory scale.
No independent confirmation was supplied for the pilot results or rollout scope.

Why costs still block scale

The Robot Report says today’s humanoid prices limit factory use.
It says only a small set of jobs can justify current costs.

A leading developer put robot cost at several hundred thousand dollars each.
The Robot Report says that price needs multi-shift, around-the-clock use to work financially.

Plant teams should compare total output, not just task flexibility.
Specialized automation is built around one workflow.
That focus can deliver more output for less money.

Throughput remains a hard benchmark

The Robot Report says humanoid parcel demos reached about 1,000 picks per hour.
Specialized parcel robots ran from 1,300 to nearly 3,000 picks per hour.

That gap matters when managers build a payback case.
A humanoid must earn its higher cost through useful flexibility.

Labor support is still part of the plan

Human oversight remains necessary when robots meet unusual conditions, The Robot Report says.
Direct teleoperation can limit scale because each robot needs a person’s attention.

The outlet describes a different model: one supervisor may oversee 50 or more robots.
That level of supervision remains an operating assumption, not a confirmed BMW result.