ABB’s IRB-7720 modular industrial robotic arm. | Credit: ABB
ABB Robotics’ third Automotive Manufacturing Outlook Survey provides some nice insights into how automotive manufacturing leaders and key suppliers view electrical automobile (EV) manufacturing goals. According to the survey, there’s a optimistic outlook from manufacturing leaders on the expansion of EV manufacturing in 2025.
Thirty-one % of the 434 survey respondents predicted EV output would improve by greater than 10%. An additional 44% mentioned manufacturing would develop in 2025 by as much as 10%. Meanwhile, solely 21% of respondents believed EV manufacturing would both stay static (8%) or decline (13%) by means of 2025.
“This year’s survey found that overall, automotive manufacturing professionals are optimistic about EV production growth in 2025, but unsure about reaching 100 percent electric vehicle production timetables due to factors now often beyond the factory environment,” mentioned Joerg Reger, managing director of ABB’s automotive enterprise Line. “There’s strong evidence that EV manufacturing capabilities are now considerably improved, and significant change has taken place in terms of introducing new production technology as well as upskilling workforces. ABB Robotics has made wide-scale changes to our own robotic and automation portfolio to support our customers and drive this transformation forward at pace.”
Despite the optimistic EV forecast from manufacturing specialists, there was a decline in confidence about assembly proposed EV deadlines. When requested whether or not 100% EV manufacturing was achievable to fulfill regional deadlines set between 2030-2040, 31% believed this was an inconceivable goal in comparison with 27% the earlier 12 months and simply 18% in 2022. Overall, 65% had been skeptical about reaching full EV manufacturing throughout the 2030-2040 timeframe.
Further examination of the downturn in confidence discovered that the principle boundaries had been now deemed to be ‘outside the factory’ with ranges of client demand and confidence in charging infrastructure. The survey additionally indicated that manufacturing specialists are predicting robust development in hybrid powertrains throughout 2025, with 67% of these surveyed believing that plug-in hybrid electrical automobile (PHEV) manufacturing would develop and 20% forecasting that manufacturing would improve by over 10%. Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) figures had been equally optimistic with 62% of these surveyed anticipating output to develop in 2025.
“Hybrid passenger vehicle production remains buoyant with the global manufacturing community expecting to produce more cars in 2025. These results support the survey’s main findings that the overall pace of EV adoption is currently not fast enough to reach some of the upcoming legislative deadlines for a 100% electric future,” mentioned Daniel Harrison, chief analyst for Automotive Manufacturing Solutions.
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“Within the manufacturing environment, the production of numerous powertrains across several model lines can create considerable complexity and additional cost, which has been pinpointed in our previous surveys produced in partnership with ABB Robotics.”
Automotive has historically been the spine of the robotics trade. In 2020, nevertheless, the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) discovered that yearly orders of robots for non-automotive sectors surpassed automotive robotic orders for the primary time in North America. Fast ahead to final 12 months, automotive orders declined 15% in 2024 in comparison with 2023 in North America, in line with A3. A3 mentioned it was optimistic automotive orders will bounce again by the top of 2025.
“I think there is room to grow in automotive,” Alex Shikany, govt vice chairman of A3, not too long ago advised The Robot Report. “What we saw over the last two years, with the lower quantities of orders, had a lot more to do with manufacturers pivoting their strategies with regard to not getting the performance they thought they would get out of all their electric ambitions.”
What are your expectations for a way the automotive trade and EVs will influence robotics gross sales in 2025? Let us know within the feedback.
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Robotics influence on EVs
When questioned about how effectively manufacturing firms are embracing robotics, new OEMs, startups, and pop-up producers had been the main adopters with 63% investing “very well” or “quite well.” This was matched by 63% of expertise specialists investing “very well” or “quite well” in robotics, main all different manufacturing teams.
In third place had been legacy OEMs with 53% investing “very well” or “quite well” in robotics, the survey discovered. Referencing the earlier survey outcomes, new OEMs, startups, and pop-up producers who had been embracing robotics and automation “very well” or “quite well” dropped from 66% in 2023 to 63% in 2024, indicating a slight decline in perceived adoption.
According to the survey, autonomous cell robots (AMRs) exhibited the very best anticipated improve, with 25% predicting a powerful improve and 39% anticipating a slight improve. Collaborative robots (cobots) had been in second place with 22% predicting a powerful improve and 35% anticipating a slight improve, adopted by articulated robots in third place with 19% predicting a powerful improve and 39% anticipating a slight improve.
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Yes, humanoids additionally made the record. According to the survey, humanoids had been cited to strongly improve by 27% of Asian respondents, in comparison with solely 5% in Europe and simply 2% in North America. Several humanoid producers are testing with automakers, together with Apptronik, Boston Dynamics, Figure, and UBTech, to call a number of. Of course, Tesla can also be growing humanoids.
UBTech this week launched a video showcasing a swarm of humanoids performing quite a lot of duties and dealing collectively inside a Zeekr sensible manufacturing facility in China. You can watch the video beneath.
According to the survey, 54% of respondents see anticipated excessive preliminary prices as the best impediment to sensible manufacturing facility implementation.