Smart Factories in the Automotive Industry

Industry 4.0 Smart Factories in the Automotive Industry

26.10.2018Author / Editor: Ahlam Rais / Ahlam Rais

The trend towards creating smart factories is on the rise. Especially the automotive sector invests large sums in smart factories.

Related Vendors

BMW Bayerische Motorenwerke AG

Bühler AG

Harley-Davidson Germany GmbH

Audi AG

Albert Handtmann Metallgusswerk GmbH & Co. KG

more less

The automotive sector is making larger investments and setting higher targets for its digital manufacturing operations than any other sector.
(Source: Thinkstock)

“Industry 4.0 is more than just a flashy catchphrase. A confluence of trends and technologies promises to reshape the way things are made.” – Cornelius Baur and Dominik Wee, McKinsey & Company.

This statement is so true; the fourth industrial revolution i.e. Industry 4.0 comprises multiple segments such as Internet of Things, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, robotics, 3D printing and many more and has rightly transformed the traditional process of production. Due to this new automation level highly intricate, complex and customised products can be manufactured with ease. Some of the added advantages of adopting this current trend include savings of costs and time as well as producing high-quality products. Together, all these elements lead to the establishment of a smart factory.

Smart Factories On The Rise

According to a recent report by Capgemini the automotive sector is the most enthusiastic industry for setting up smart factories. The sector is making larger investments and setting higher targets for its digital manufacturing operations than any other sector. The report further adds that by the end of 2022, automotive manufacturers expect that 24 % of their plants will be smart factories and 49 % of automakers have already invested more than 250 million dollars in smart factories. Apart from this, 42 % of smart factory initiatives are struggling and the ones that are making the best progress are investing 2.5 times more than the companies that are struggling.

The series production of Audi’s electric drives has officially started in Györ. On a surface of 8,500 square meters, electric motors are produced by means of a novel approach: modular assembly. (Audi AG)

Live Examples In The Automotive Industry

BMW is planning to expand its largest automated production facility in South Carolina, USA for 1 billion dollars and further intends to invest 600 million dollars in the project. Another automotive giant, Audi has invested 1.3 billion dollars for building a smart factory in Mexico and American motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson has already reduced its 21-day production cycle down to only six hours! The smart factory process has enabled the company to reduce operating costs by 200 million dollars. All these real life examples show that the plus points of adopting the ‘smart factory’ concept are clearly visible.

This article was first published by MaschinenMarkt International.

Subscribe to the newsletter now

Don't Miss out on Our Best Content

Business E-mail

Please enter a valid mailadress.

By clicking on „Subscribe to Newsletter“ I agree to the processing and use of my data according to the consent form (please expand for details) and accept the Terms of Use. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy.

Declaration of consent

Naturally, we always handle your personal data responsibly. Any personal data we receive from you is processed in accordance with applicable data protection legislation. For detailed information please see our privacy policy.

Consent to the use of data for promotional purposes

I consent to NürnbergMesse GmbH, Exhibition Centre, 90471 Nuremberg, including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG (hereafter: NürnbergMesse) and Vogel Communication Group GmbH & Co. KG, Max-Planckstr. 7-9, 97082 Würzburg, including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG (hereafter: Vogel Communications Group) using my e-mail address to send editorial newsletters. I have accessed lists of the respective companies here for Vogel Communications Group

Newsletter content may include all products and services of any companies mentioned above, including for example specialist journals and books, events and fairs as well as event-related products and services, print and digital media offers and services such as additional (editorial) newsletters, raffles, lead campaigns, market research both online and offline, specialist webportals and e-learning offers. In case my personal telephone number has also been collected, it may be used for offers of aforementioned products, for services of the companies mentioned above, and market research purposes.

In case I access protected data on Internet portals of NürnbergMesse including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG or Vogel Communications Group including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG, I need to provide further data in order to register for the access of such content. In return for this free access to editorial content, my data may be used in accordance with this consent for the purposes stated here.

Right of revocation

I understand that I can revoke my consent at will. My revocation does not change the lawfulness of data processing that was conducted based on my consent leading up to my revocation. To declare my revocation I must use this contact form. In case I no longer wish to receive certain newsletters I have subscribed to, I can also click on the unsubscribe link included at the end of a newsletter. Further information regarding my right of revocation and the implementation of it as well as the consequences of my revocation can be found in the privacy policy, section editorial newsletter.

(ID:45566632)