From automating complex tasks to enhancing quality control, AI is becoming a crucial tool for streamlining operations within automotive manufacturing.
OEMs including Stellantis, Hyundai, BMW, and Toyota are integrating AI across various facets of production, showcasing how advanced technologies are driving significant improvements in efficiency, cost reduction, and innovation. This piece explores how 10 leading OEMs are leveraging AI to enhance manufacturing to achieve their cost-saving targets.
1: Stellantis
By 2030, Stellantis aims to reduce production costs by 40%. To achieve this ambitious target, they plan to incorporate automation, digital solutions, and AI into their operations. A key driver of this effort is Stellantis’ annual Factory Booster Day, which serves as a global showcase for new technologies on the shop floor. During the event, suppliers and startups present their solutions through both physical and virtual demonstrations.
“We have proof that collaboration with our manufacturing partners works. Implementing innovations and continuous improvement have reduced our transformation costs 11%, energy consumption 23% and quality issues 40% since 2021,” said Arnaud Deboeuf, Stellantis Chief Manufacturing Officer.
Some of the innovations Stellantis are using to reach its goal includes AutoDesk Construction Cloud, a cloud-based platform that streamlines workflows across all construction phases, and AI-enabled robot guidance. This system, installed in several Stellantis powertrain plants, incorporates a threedimensional vision system. GuideNow innovation is developed with Inbolt, a France-based startup.
Source: Automotive World
2: Hyundai Motor Company
Hyundai Motor Company recently announced a strategic partnership with NVIDIA to accelerate the development of advanced AI technologies aimed at driving forward mobility. Hyundai will leverage NVIDIA’s accelerated computing and AI Enterprise software to manage the data required to safely develop and train models for a range of applications.
Additionally, Hyundai will utilize the NVIDIA Omniverse platform to create physical AI and digital twin applications to simulate its factories, enhancing manufacturing quality and efficiency. The company will also adopt the NVIDIA Isaac robot development platform to design and safely deploy robots.
The goal for both parties is to create virtual simulation environments for the safe and reliable automation of driving technologies and robotic systems. This partnership marks the beginning of a broader collaboration, with further innovations expected to be announced in the future.
This is just the beginning for Hyundai and NVIDIA with more to be announced soon.
Source: Hyundai
3: BMW
BMW is also among the leading OEMs leveraging AI to transform its production processes. The company utilises AI-powered cameras on production lines to enhance quality assurance. These cameras are equipped with the ability to detect defects in vehicle components that human inspectors may overlook. This system ensures higher-quality products, while improving efficiency and reducing costs.
The cameras feature high-resolution imaging, defect detection, automated alerts and continuous learning capabilities. These cameras are deployed at various stages of the production cycle to main the highest quality standards. The production stages include body assembly, paint finishing, interior components and engine and drivetrain.
Looking to the future, BMW is committed to expanding the use of AI across all aspects of its manufacturing processes. Upcoming developments may include predictive quality control, the integration of advanced robotics, and further enhancements in sustainability efforts.
Source: Redress Compliance
4: Czinger
By using 3D printing and AI to manufacture sports cars more efficiently, Czinger is achieving recordbreaking performances. Co-founder, COO, and President Lukas Czinger states, “We call it ‘the summer of records.’”
The company’s strategy leverages parent company Divergent’s end-to-end design and manufacturing platform, which integrates AI, advanced material science, and 3D printing. This combination allows Czinger to streamline the design process and minimise material usage.
With this strategy already proving successful, Divergent has expanded its portfolio, adding McLaren and Bugatti to the list of luxury automakers for who it will design and manufacture components. Lukas Czinger adds, “If we do our job right, it will be the biggest manufacturing system in the world in 10 years.”
Source: TIME
5: Toyota
Toyota has integrated AI into its manufacturing processes through the development of smart factories. In these facilities, AI is used to automate complex manufacturing tasks and oversee processes with precision and consistency. Robotics, IoT, and advanced data analytics are also incorporated into these systems.
Within Toyota’s smart factories, AI algorithms analyse data from numerous sensors and machines to monitor operations in real-time. They can predict equipment failures, optimise production processes, and ensure quality control by identifying deviations from standards more accurately than human operators.
The AI systems also have the ability to learn from data, improving processes and adapting to new challenges. The benefits of these AI systems include enhanced productivity, improved quality assurance, increased operational efficiency, data-driven decision-making, workforce empowerment, and the ability to quickly adapt to market demands.
Source: Digital Defynd
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