ABB Robotics announced on November 11, 2026 that it is supplying more than 1,700 large robots for BMW Group's Neue Klasse vehicles, to be used for welding, gluing, riveting and assembly in the body shop. That is the news; below it, two robot contracts that are open on Automate America as of Friday, November 13, 2026.
What ABB announced
According to ABB Robotics' press release of November 11, 2026, the robots go to two BMW plants: the main plant in Munich, Germany, and the plant in Tiexi, China. They will take on what ABB calls demanding and repetitive tasks in body shop operations, namely welding, gluing, riveting and assembly. At Munich, ABB says, they are used among other things in building the new fully electric Neue Klasse models.
ABB lists the IRB 6720 to IRB 6740 and the IRB 7720, models it describes as optimized for car body construction with payloads of up to 620 kilograms. Every robot in the order runs on the latest generation of ABB's OmniCore controller. Robotics & Automation News reported the same scope on the same day. Both sources are the vendor's own account of the order; neither gives a delivery schedule, so this article states none.
Why it matters to the people who program and weld with robots
A body shop is the part of a car plant where steel and aluminum are joined, and the four tasks ABB names are exactly that: welding, gluing, riveting and assembly. Robots that do this work have to be taught their paths, tooled, tuned and kept running, and a new controller generation changes the platform those people work on. Those are our observations, not statements from ABB or BMW. What the announcement does show, in ABB's words, is a very large robot order aimed at the work that robot programmer and robot weld technicians do every day.
Open robot contracts today
These two contracts are open on Automate America as of November 13, 2026. Each is on its own page, with the full description and how to apply.
- Robot Programmer for ABB robots (IRC5 controller, dispensing and riveting) in Spartanburg, SC, starting November 15, 2026.
- Robot Weld Technician in Spartanburg, SC.
These contracts are posted by their own customers and are not part of the BMW order; they are listed here because the work, programming and welding with industrial robots, is the work the news describes. The robot platform in a listing is named only as the skill asked for. Browse every open contract for the others.
Looking for robot work, or for the people to do it
Professionals can build a profile and apply to contracts like these directly, and companies with robot work of their own can post a contract or search the professionals who program, weld and maintain robots.
Robot Programmer contract · Robot Weld Technician contract · Browse every open contract · Search and request professionals · Post a contract
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Tony Wallace, Co-Founder · Automate America · Text first 586-770-8083 · TonyW@AutomateAmerica.com
