BMW Individual now offered in 1 Series and 2 Gran Coupe

“Cars as colorful as us” is the BMW Group's initiative on diversity in its Leipzig plant. Now, the German carmaker extended that initiative to the color options for the 1 and 2 Series in BMW Individual, a palette of unique colors customers can choose from. 

The 1 Series and 2 Series Gran Coupes, for those who prefer less ordinary colors, wear the color options Speed Yellow, San Marino Blue, Verde Ermes Green, and Nardo Grey. And while black and white are still the people's choice, its customers are seeking more special paint jobs, BMW said. 

BMW Individual offers 160 color options for the mentioned compact hatch and sedan, which come in matte and gloss finishes. Leipzig’s order books for vehicles with Individual finishes have filled up nicely until the end of the year, and the next major order is for 180 118d vehicles in Hockenheim Silver, Ruby Red and Sepia Violet for BMW Japan.

The lead time for special finishes in a preferred Individual color is about 10 weeks. Aside from the choice of 160 colors, customers can have their own colors specially mixed and used on their car only.

To handle more special paints, the existing car painting system has been upgraded, BMW said, where new paint supply systems and a new mixing area have been integrated. The paint shop can now paint five vehicles a day in colors from the Individual range.

With the integration of the special new colors, that means extra service and supervision work for the paint shop team compared with what’s needed for standard finishes. Some processes, such as sign-off, can no longer be carried out by automated means and have to be performed manually instead. For that purpose, the paint shop team has been expanded.

For matte finishes, the process is especially time-consuming and complex, as defects cannot be treated in the conventional way that is used with gloss finishes. Instead, each matte-finished car takes 30 minutes longer to prepare. There are currently two matte color options: Frozen Black and Frozen Orange.

Individual paint finishes may only just be starting at Plant Leipzig, but already the orders are revealing a few special favorites. Yellows, blues, reds, and violet shades are especially popular at the moment, bringing plenty of color not only to the streets but also to Plant Leipzig’s paint shop and production lines.

The full range of color choices for BMW models can be viewed at the BMW Individual Visualiser.

Photos from BMW

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