BMW invests in tech training centers for EV expansion

BMW's plan to accelerate into electrification is triggering investment in U.S. technician training centers.

BMW expects to have 25 electrified models on the road by 2023, two years earlier than it previously planned. To meet the new plan in the U.S., the luxury automaker is investing $56 million in support centers.

BMW has announced the opening of two technician training centers, in Spartanburg, S.C., and Atlanta, and the expansion of two others, in Woodcliff Lake, N.J., and Ontario, Calif., to train service techs to work on electrified drivetrains and a constantly evolving suite of technologies emerging in modern vehicles.

The centers will require technicians to tackle the newest iterations of driver assistance technologies, over-the-air communication systems and infotainment hardware, as well as software programming and engine mechanics, BMW's vice president of aftersales, Claus Eberhart, told Automotive News.

The expected demand will represent a new level of automotive skill recruitment in locations that are distant from industry engineering, r&d and manufacturing bases, Eberhart said.

Even collision repair has become more complicated. The thickness of paint applied to a bumper, for instance, must be carefully monitored to account for the sensors and cameras built into the component. In addition to new powertrains, electrified vehicles have lightweight materials such as carbon fiber and aluminum that technicians must learn to work with.

"A new level of craftsmanship is required," Eberhart said.

In Atlanta, BMW has plowed $17 million into a more than 53,000-square-foot center near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The site, which opened this spring, replaced a smaller BMW tech center north of Atlanta.

The $10 million Spartanburg training center is a 35,000-square-foot facility about 1.5 miles from BMW's largest assembly plant in the world.

The tech training expansion goes beyond preparing for tomorrow's vehicles. It's needed to solve today's challenges.

BMW's $56 million investment will boost the automaker's tech training capacity by 50 percent and replenish the pool of 12,000 technicians that support the 348 BMW and 123 Mini dealerships in the U.S.

The industry has long worried about its unmet needs for manufacturing and engineering technicians. But it also faces a shortage of service technicians.

The National Automobile Dealers Association says the retail auto industry needs about 76,000 new technicians every year to fill anticipated job openings. The industry is experiencing an annual shortage of 39,000 trained technicians.

Dealerships typically lose 10 to 15 percent of their technicians annually to retirement and attrition, Eberhart said.

"Every year we need roughly 1,500 new technicians to cater for the turnover, but also the growth we are planning," he said. "We are planning every year a significant amount of new cars, but we have to take care of almost 5 million units already in operation."

About 8,500 technicians cycle through one of BMW's training programs each year. BMW also recruits the next generation of techs though its Service Technician Education Program, a 16-week course for technical school graduates. Since 1997, nearly 5,200 students have completed the program, 95 percent of whom landed jobs at BMW dealerships.

Meanwhile, the rise of vehicle electrification is further complicating the outlook. BMW Group expects its EV sales to increase by an average of 30 percent annually. Last year, the automaker boosted global sales of electrified vehicles 38.4 percent to a combined 142,617 BMWs and Minis. The company expects its worldwide electrified vehicle sales to total 500,000 by year end.

The industry's ongoing shift to electrification will change the skills needed by auto dealership technicians. Required service will be greatly reduced, because vehicles no longer will require oil and filter changes, radiator repairs or drive belt replacements.

Instead, dealerships will need technicians capable of working with advanced electronics, vehicle computer systems and advanced sensing and communications systems.