Automakers and their suppliers have historically been among the pioneers when it comes to adopting advanced manufacturing technologies. Despite the hit from COVID, the sector remains at the vanguard of IoT adoption. Technology intelligence firm ABI Research expects that global investment into smart manufacturing will grow from US$345bn in 2021 to more than US$950bn in 2030, and automotive will make up a sizeable chunk of that.
The broad classification of ‘smart manufacturing’ covers numerous applications, touching on anything from 5G and autonomous mobile robots to asset tracking and digital twins. Automotive players have been exploring all of these areas, though some are much more active in their implementation than others. Ryan Martin, Industrial & Manufacturing Research Director at ABI Research, speaks to Automotive World about the latest developments specific to the automotive sector on this front and the biggest risks associated with the move to smart manufacturing.
