ABB Robotics and Automotive Manufacturing Solutions, a leading automotive industry journal, have launched their second global survey on the automotive manufacturing landscape. The ABB survey attracted nearly 400 management and engineering experts at all levels from automotive manufacturers and suppliers, as well as professionals in other core areas of the automotive manufacturing industry.

DS200SLCCG1AFG The results of the survey show that the global automotive industry is facing the dual challenges of rising energy costs in Europe and high labor costs in the United States, and many companies in the automotive supply chain still have a huge amount of automation room, and ABB’s energy-efficient automation solutions can help them meet these challenges.

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The global automotive supply chain urgently needs to embrace automation

Although automation is considered a key factor in the future of the automotive industry, many companies in the automotive industry supply chain have yet to take full advantage of robotics and digitalization.

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Nearly all respondents (97 percent) believe automation and robotics will revolutionize the automotive industry over the next five years, with the same percentage (96 percent) predicting software, digitization and data management will play an equally important role. When asked about the pace of investment, the majority of respondents believe that start-ups and new automotive manufacturers (Oems) are at the forefront of the industry, with 38 percent and 28 percent, respectively, rating their investments in automation as “very good” or “fairly good.” This was followed by traditional automakers, with 31 percent of respondents rating their investments in automation as performing “very well.” However, only 7% of respondents believe that Tier 2 auto parts suppliers are making the necessary investments, and the proportion of Tier 3 auto parts suppliers is even lower at 3%.

DS200SLCCG1AFG Joerg Reger, head of ABB’s robotic car business unit, said that in the past, automation has been considered the exclusive domain of large manufacturers, but this is not the reality. ABB offers a comprehensive portfolio of collaborative robots, large industrial robots, and AI-enabled autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), all powered by leading software solutions that address the challenges faced by manufacturers of all sizes. Automation can make small businesses more resilient, flexible and efficient.

For example, ABB’s two-arm YuMi® collaborative robot recently helped Japanese die-cast aluminum component supplier SUS reduce assembly time by 20 percent and increase production efficiency by 20 percent. The introduction of this much-needed flexible production allows the company to respond to fluctuations in demand and expects its investment to pay for itself within two years.

While both old and new automakers are making critical investments, the important upstream supply chains that support them are not transforming as quickly. This could both increase costs and slow the delivery of new and increasingly complex auto parts, especially those used in electric vehicles. The proliferation of practical and cost-effective automation and robotics is therefore critical for the industry as a whole.