[Hoka Hey]

Any thoughts on how long it takes from the time you get the status message “Production begins“ until the vehicle is delivered to the dealership.

[exxxviii]

Short answer is probably a couple months. But you could have delays at any step in the process that could add a month or more. It also depends on where you are. If it is shipping to the east cost, it is much quicker than shipping to the west coast.

Here is my simplified timeline with typical, optimistic durations.

• 1 week for production
• 1 week to get from the factory to the port (wait time for transport assignment)
• 1 week to get assigned a ship
• 3 weeks at sea
• 2 weeks to get through VPC and then assigned and transported to the dealer

[LVBMW]

Production begins is something of a misnomer. Nothing is actually being assembled yet. It just means the build is locked and components are being gathered for the build. You could go into "production begins" status weeks ahead of actual completion (I did). Once you're in this status and have a VIN number, you can Google "BMW Chrome trick" to use your browser to see some hidden data including the actual date the car will roll off the assembly line.

[Ozzie8]

Originally Posted by Hoka Hey

Any thoughts on how long it takes from the time you get the status message “Production begins“ until the vehicle is delivered to the dealership.

The key item for me, having tracked many BMW's over the years, is to obtain the name of the vessel your vehicle will be shipped on.

There can be a lot of production delays and shipping delays before your vehicle is loaded on the vessel. Once it is loaded then you tend to get very precise arrival dates for your vehicle at the port of unload.

Once the vehicle has been unloaded then you are typically in a 2-3 week window for final delivery.

Your BMW dealer can advise which vessel your vehicle will be on and you can find the vehicle shipping schedule from the shipping company website (if the dealer does not already know the dates).

[Hoka Hey]

Originally Posted by LVBMW

Production begins is something of a misnomer. Nothing is actually being assembled yet. It just means the build is locked and components are being gathered for the build. You could go into "production begins" status weeks ahead of actual completion (I did). Once you're in this status and have a VIN number, you can Google "BMW Chrome trick" to use your browser to see some hidden data including the actual date the car will roll off the assembly line.

Thanks for this. I tried it and got a code 150. Google AI says that this is the meaning of code 150:"A BMW status code of "150" means that the production of your vehicle has officially started, indicating it is now on the assembly line and actively being built; essentially, the manufacturing process has begun."

Sounds positive.

I hope that a push is being made to get it here before the new tariffs are invoked through an executive order which could happen as soon as Jan 20, 2025.

[LVBMW]

Originally Posted by Hoka Hey

Thanks for this. I tried it and got a code 150. Google AI says that this is the meaning of code 150:"A BMW status code of "150" means that the production of your vehicle has officially started, indicating it is now on the assembly line and actively being built; essentially, the manufacturing process has begun."

Sounds positive.

I hope that a push is being made to get it here before the new tariffs are invoked through an executive order which could happen as soon as Jan 20, 2025.

No, not exactly. Production begins definitely does not mean the car is actively being built and it's definitely not on the assembly line. I was in 150 status for about two weeks (and obviously it doesn't spend two weeks on an assembly line). It just means everything is being gathered for the build. The next step is exterior assembly begins (I think), and that is when the car actually starts getting put together. I don't think you found the correct Google Chrome trick, though. If you did it correctly you should see some hidden data which, if you look through it, will reveal the actual build date (the date the car will be completed). Did your dealer not tell you the build week? They should at least be able to tell you that if you can't figure out the Google Chrome trick to see the actual build date in myGarage.

[LVBMW]

Originally Posted by Ozzie8

The key item for me, having tracked many BMW's over the years, is to obtain the name of the vessel your vehicle will be shipped on.

There can be a lot of production delays and shipping delays before your vehicle is loaded on the vessel. Once it is loaded then you tend to get very precise arrival dates for your vehicle at the port of unload.

Once the vehicle has been unloaded then you are typically in a 2-3 week window for final delivery.

Your BMW dealer can advise which vessel your vehicle will be on and you can find the vehicle shipping schedule from the shipping company website (if the dealer does not already know the dates).

You can get the ship name from the BMW genius phone line in the US one it flips from at the port to in transit. Once you have the ship name, you can use a website like Marine Traffic to track the ship across the ocean and monitor its projected arrival date in real time.

[Hoka Hey]

Originally Posted by LVBMW

No, not exactly. Production begins definitely does not mean the car is actively being built and it's definitely not on the assembly line. I was in 150 status for about two weeks (and obviously it doesn't spend two weeks on an assembly line). It just means everything is being gathered for the build. The next step is exterior assembly begins (I think), and that is when the car actually starts getting put together. I don't think you found the correct Google Chrome trick, though. If you did it correctly you should see some hidden data which, if you look through it, will reveal the actual build date (the date the car will be completed). Did your dealer not tell you the build week? They should at least be able to tell you that if you can't figure out the Google Chrome trick to see the actual build date in myGarage.

Thanks. Looks like Dec 5 is the build date.

[GerWil]

Originally Posted by Hoka Hey

Any thoughts on how long it takes from the time you get the status message “Production begins“ until the vehicle is delivered to the dealership.

My 2025 ix xdrive 50 arrived at my dealer in MA today. Here is its history.
- On Sept 23rd I received notice from BMWNA that my BMW iX xDrive50 has entered the production queue.
-Production Begins Oct 16th (approximate)
-On Oct 28th it was aboard and shipped on the Mignon out of Bremerhaven
-It arrived at Port New York Nov 12th late in the day
-Delivered to Dealer today, Nov 21

[LVBMW]

Originally Posted by Hoka Hey

Thanks. Looks like Dec 5 is the build date.

Cool, so you should expect it to actually start being assembled probably 2-3 days before that date (exterior assembly, paint booth, and then on to assembly line). The assembly line moves fast, so you might not even catch that unless you're checking the status constantly.

[Daniel15]

Originally Posted by exxxviii

Here is my simplified timeline with typical, optimistic durations.

• 1 week for production
• 1 week to get from the factory to the port (wait time for transport assignment)
• 1 week to get assigned a ship
• 3 weeks at sea

FWIW mine was ordered and assembly scheduled 30th September, production "began" 9th October, assembly completed 24th October, at the port 30th October, "in transit" 13th November, but it's still at the port today. Even though the site and app say "in transit", BMW Genius (both the automated phone system as well as speaking to an actual person) say that it's still at the port. I'm in California.

Apparently the initial "at the port" status just means that it's left the factory. It doesn't necessarily mean that it's actually at the port yet - it could be waiting at a warehouse.

[Hoka Hey]

The Excitement builds. 🙂 The My BMW app says that the vehicle is now in transit as of today. 🚢 I called BMW genius and the lady was not able to give me much information. Her system was still showing that it was at the port. And she told me it would be four or five weeks before it got onto a ship. When I explained that my app said that it is actually in transit on the ship, she told me that her system only updates a couple of times a week and to call back in a few days. I have also contacted the dealer to see if they can get the information for me.

Are there any other ways to find the name of the ship?

[exxxviii]

Once you get your ship name, it is really fun to track the ship across the seas. Yours will probably offload at the Brunswick, GA port.

[Hoka Hey]

Originally Posted by exxxviii

Once you get your ship name, it is really fun to track the ship across the seas. Yours will probably offload at the Brunswick, GA port.

Thanks. I got the ship name from BMW genius. It’s odd, but the BMW app knew that it was on board the ship About three days before the BMW genius and before the dealer as well.

When I first started tracking it, my heart kind of sank because The ship made a U-turn in the English Channel. However, it eventually turned into a loop. It is due into the Port of Baltimore on January 1.

Pretty exciting. Thanks for all the great input here.

[Road Trip]

Excellent average timeline by exxxviii in 2nd post above though those of us on the west coast of the U.S. almost always need to add one extra week for longer ship transit.

[Hoka Hey]

Originally Posted by exxxviii

Short answer is probably a couple months. But you could have delays at any step in the process that could add a month or more. It also depends on where you are. If it is shipping to the east cost, it is much quicker than shipping to the west coast.

Here is my simplified timeline with typical, optimistic durations.

• 1 week for production
• 1 week to get from the factory to the port (wait time for transport assignment)
• 1 week to get assigned a ship
• 3 weeks at sea
• 2 weeks to get through VPC and then assigned and transported to the dealer

Thanks again for this. It turned out to be pretty accurate. The only difference was that it was only around 10 days at sea. Also, it sat at the dealership for 3 days.