“Automotive manufacturers are acutely aware that advanced robotics, Artificial Intelligence and digital twinning technology are positive drivers of change,” said Joerg Reger, Managing Director of ABB Robotics Automotive Business Line. "Together, these technologies are forming the building blocks of ‘Smart Factories' which will help carmakers introduce new models more quickly and cost-effectively, while greatly reducing energy consumption and costs and meeting sustainability targets.”

The benefits of increasing the use of advanced manufacturing technologies, ranging from AI-powered autonomous mobile robots which deliver parts to the line to digital twinning technology, all featured prominently in the latest Manufacturing Outlook Survey.

The survey again highlighted the importance of robotics and advanced automation with 64 percent of respondents agreeing there would be an increase in the use of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) in automotive manufacturing, while 57 percent agreed that more collaborative robots (cobots) will be introduced alongside workers to perform repetitive assembly tasks.

Respondents cited a major leap for the industry driven by generative AI and software, with 82 percent agreeing that leveraging this technology had the potential to reduce vehicle manufacturing costs, improve quality and streamline the introduction of new models. The adoption of another key technology, digital twinning and simulation, was also expected to rise significantly with 73 percent predicting greater uptake.

The survey also underlined how the uptake of flexible manufacturing was viewed as a crucial way to navigate the complexities many well-known manufacturers face. These include unpredictable levels of demand for certain vehicle types including EVs, hybrids and ICE vehicles, with manufacturers needing to assemble different powertrains on a single site, while maintaining faster product lifecycles. Over the next five years, 84 percent of those surveyed said flexible manufacturing would be a significant factor in vehicle manufacturing.

“Flexible manufacturing is essential when it comes to managing the very real complexities, as well as financial commitments, many carmakers currently need to tackle, and is an approach ABB Robotics has pioneered for our customers,” adds Reger.

“The ability to quickly add extra and different assembly capacity as a module – when customer demand for a particular model suddenly increases or a new powertrain is available – without disrupting production or requiring significant capital expenditure remains vitally important.

While survey respondents supported the introduction of new technology and viewed the future smart factory positively, there was recognition of some of the challenges involved in reaching this destination. High initial costs (54 percent) were viewed as the biggest constraint while technical challenges (35 percent), cybersecurity and data protection (32 percent) all featured prominently as did workforce adaptation (32 percent) and the lack of skilled employees (28 percent).