According to a global survey commissioned by ABB Robotics and the industry magazine Automotive Manufacturing Solutions, more than half (59 percent) of the 600 industry experts surveyed believe that converting production purely to electric vehicles is not feasible within current regulatory deadlines. Respondents pointed to the challenges of adapting to a new battery supply chain and expressed concerns about the high capital investment required, lack of raw materials, suitable infrastructure and lack of grid capacity.
"The automotive industry is aware of the efforts involved in meeting the proposed regional timelines for full production of electric vehicles," emphasized Joerg Reger, head of the Automotive business line at ABB Robotics. "To achieve these goals, automation is key. It creates more resilience, efficiency and speed in manufacturing. Robot-based solutions succeed in significantly reducing build time, increasing flexibility, further simplifying the production process and ultimately lowering production costs."