BMW has been making cars at the Leipzig plant since March 2005 when a 320i (E90) rolled off the assembly line. The German luxury brand needed less than seven years to build the one-millionth car, a 116d in Alpine White completed in December 2011. Then the two-millionth vehicle followed in October 2016, an i3 finished in Protonic Blue. In 2021, the third-millionth car, an M240i Convertible in Sunset Orange was finished.
Plant Leipzig has just finished the assembly of its 3,333,333rd car, a 128ti painted in Melbourne Red contrasted by black accents. Why isn’t BMW waiting for the fourth-million car to celebrate the next milestone? Because three is generally considered to be a lucky number, and this hot hatch has seven of them in the production sequence.
At the same factory located about 160 kilometers (100 miles) southwest of Berlin, BMW makes two additional front-wheel-drive cars: the 2 Series Gran Coupe and the 2 Series Active Tourer. That being said, the four-millionth vehicle might not be a BMW considering the next-generation MINI Countryman will be made there from late this year, complete with an electric version. Leipzig will therefore become the BMW Group’s first factory to assemble cars belonging to both brands.
If you’re wondering which model has been produced the most at Plant Leipzig, the answer would have to be the X1 (E84) of which 635,194 units were assembled between 2009 and 2015. The 1 Series five-door (F20) is up next with 424,111 cars while on the last place of the podium is the 2 Series Active Tourer (F45) with 368,503 vehicles.
During the first year of production, Plant Leipzig had an annual capacity of around 54,000 cars. Fast forward to 2023, it can now assemble as many as 350,000 vehicles in a single year.
| Model | Production period | Quantity | |
| 3 Series Sedan E90 | 2005 – 2007 | 333,427 | |
| 1 Series three door E81 | 2007 – 2011 | 187,263 | |
| 1 Series Coupe E82 | 2007 – 2013 | 130,205 | |
| 1 Series Convertible E88 | 2008 – 2011 | 131,664 | |
| X1 E84 | 2009 – 2015 | 635,194 | |
| 1 Series M Coupe E82 | 2011 – 2012 | 6,342 | |
| 1 Series five door F20 | 2012 – 2015 | 424,111 | |
| 2 Series Coupe F22 | 2015 – 2021 | 165,224 | |
| i3 i01 | 2013 – 2022 | 250,271 | |
| i8 i12 | 2013 – 2020 | 16,581 | |
| i8 Roadster i15 | 2018 – 2020 | 3,884 | |
| 2 Series Active Tourer F45 | 2014 – 2021 | 368,503 | |
| 2 Series Convertible F23 | 2014 – 2021 | 119,092 | |
| M2 F87 | 2015 – 2021 | 61,856 | |
| 1 Series five door F40 | 2019 – * | 305,467 | |
| 2 Series Gran Coupe F44 | 2020 – * | 160,578 | |
| 2 Series Active Tourer U06 | 2021 – * | 33,671 | |
Source: BMW
via Tingle Cars