Figure 03 at BMW: the first humanoid job I'd watch closely
Figure 02 helped build 30,000+ BMW X3s loading sheet metal. Figure 03 now works in Hall 52 at Spartanburg on a harder job: sequencing parts while it moves and pulls carts, driven by Helix 02.
Figure 03 is now working in Hall 52 at BMW Group Plant Spartanburg, South Carolina. Figure announced it on June 30, 2026. The job is harder than the one Figure 02 had, and I think it is the first humanoid task at a car plant that is worth watching closely.
What Figure 02 did first
According to Figure's results post (Nov 19, 2025), Figure 02 ran an 11-month deployment on 10-hour shifts, Monday to Friday. It loaded more than 90,000 sheet-metal parts onto a welding fixture over 1,250+ hours, toward more than 30,000 BMW X3s. The targets: an 84-second cycle with 37 seconds to load, placement within 5 mm, over 99% success per shift, zero interventions.
Figure says the forearm was its top hardware failure at BMW, and it redesigned the wrist electronics for Figure 03. On Sept 30, 2026 it retired Figure 02 fleet-wide.
The new job: sequencing
Sequencing means picking parts and putting them in order for the line. The parts shift, rotate and hide behind each other in bins, so a fixed series of motions fails. Figure 03 grasps thin-walled parts with both hands, steps to keep its balance and reach, places each part, then pulls a heavy metal cart on casters down the line.
Figure credits Helix 02, its vision-language-action model, which controls hands, arms, torso and feet together.
My take
Loading a fixture is a job a six-axis arm already does well. Sequencing is different: it mixes judgment about messy bins with walking and pulling weight. That is the gap a humanoid would have to fill to justify its price, so this is the right test.
I would still treat it as a demonstration for now. For Figure 02, Figure published cycle time, accuracy and interventions. For Figure 03, it has not published any of those yet. The numbers I want: cycles per shift, how often a person steps in, and how many robots BMW runs.
What it means for a business
If you run a warehouse or a plant, a humanoid is not something to buy this year. The useful signal is the type of job: the first paid humanoid work is the variable, physically awkward work between machines. If you have a job like that, start measuring it now (time per cycle, errors, injuries), so you can judge a vendor's numbers when they arrive.
Image: Figure AI.
Sources
- F.03 Arrives at BMW, Figure AI (accessed 18 Oct 2026)
- F.02 Contributed to the Production of 30,000 Cars at BMW, Figure AI (accessed 18 Oct 2026)
- F.02 Decommission, Figure AI (accessed 18 Oct 2026)
- BMW Plant Spartanburg: 30 years, BMW Manufacturing (accessed 18 Oct 2026)
