Supported by the growing automotive industry, automotiveRobotThe technology market is growing steadily. As people’s living standards improve, especially in developing countries, the demand for passenger cars as well as commercial vehicles will greatly increase, thereby triggering a large demand for automobile production.
According to new research from Global Market Insights, the automotive robotics market will grow from roughly $4 billion today to $6 billion by 2024. General Motors is developing in intelligence and electrification, and higher-level car production will further promote the rise in demand for automotive robots. Car companies are beginning to clear their inventories and conduct new technology product development and manufacturing.
The unexpected epidemic has interrupted the established track of the development and transformation of the automobile industry.
The global auto market under the influence of the epidemic
At present, the domestic epidemic is initially under control, but the overseas epidemic is still spreading, and the situation of the global auto industry is still not optimistic. As of April 27, 2020, the number of confirmed cases worldwide has exceeded 2.81 million, of which the United States and Europe are the hardest hit areas, and European and American companies have to suspend production. According to incomplete statistics, there are currently about 38 multinational auto companies that have shut down or plan to shut down factories, and the total number of factories has reached more than 150.
Due to the spread of the epidemic in Europe, car sales in Italy, France and Spain fell the most, with GM, Ford and other auto companies withdrawing their previously released 2020 financial performance targets and lowering profit expectations. In addition, the three major automakers in Germany and the United States, as well as the eight major automakers in Japan, also stopped production, reduced production and switched production to varying degrees. At the same time, more and more auto parts giants in Europe and America have stopped their factories, such as Bosch, Continental, Schaeffler, Marelli, Webasto, Veninger, ZF, Brembo, Bio, Magna , Michelin…
The automotive supply chain is the hardest hit by the epidemic. With the continuous escalation of the global new crown pneumonia epidemic, the resumption of work of Chinese parts and components companies has been delayed, and logistics and transportation have been blocked. The supply chains of some multinational companies are facing the risk of supply disruption. The strict control measures adopted by various countries, such as transportation and population movement, not only affect the industrial production of each country, but also face certain challenges to the increasingly integrated global industrial chain.
In order to ensure the normal operation of the company, in addition to GM’s approval to produce ventilators, Ford, Fiat Chrysler, Tesla, Rolls-Royce, Volkswagen, Daimler, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, McLaren, Ferrari and other supercar manufacturers Twelve multinational automakers have already started the preparation and production of ventilator equipment.
By understanding the status of automobile factories in various countries and the import and export sales data information related to automobiles, MIR Rui Industry has analyzed the impact of the current epidemic on the global automobile industry.
Under the shroud of overseas epidemics, the global auto market is in sorrow. As of now, more than 150 auto factories around the world are in a “dormant” state, and there are still question marks during the resumption of work. A large number of overseas factories of multinational car companies are in a state of shutdown, China has instead become the region with the most stable production capacity in the world and a safe haven for the world’s manufacturing industry at this stage.
Post-pandemic China strategy
From February 19 to March 30, the overall operating rate of China’s auto industry enterprises has increased from about 60% to 97%, and the employee return rate has also increased from about 50% to 82%, which has basically returned to the same period last year. .
Provincial governments have also successively introduced policies to stimulate the auto market. According to incomplete statistics, since the beginning of February this year, as many as 9 cities have issued relevant documents to stimulate auto consumption such as car purchase subsidies and relaxation of car purchase restrictions, including Foshan, Guangdong Province, Guangzhou and Zhuhai, Xiangtan and Changsha in Hunan Province, Hangzhou and Ningbo in Zhejiang Province, Nanchang in Jiangxi Province and Changchun in Jilin Province.
After the epidemic is over, there will be information factors of “retaliatory consumption” and “compensatory consumption”, which will stimulate the consumption potential of the public. As the world’s largest consumer market, the auto market in 2020 may not be as pessimistic as imagined.
The data also proves that the domestic new crown pneumonia epidemic has been effectively controlled, the production and operation of enterprises have gradually resumed, and the domestic automobile market has gradually recovered from the trough in February. From the overall situation in the first quarter, car sales were 3.672 million, down 42.4% year-on-year. Exports were 204,000 units, down 11.5% year-on-year. Imports were 199,000 units, down 23.2% year-on-year.
With the gradual implementation of national policies related to new energy vehicles such as the 30th batch of vehicle purchase tax exemptions, and the successive introduction of policies by local governments to promote automobile consumption, the recovery of China’s automobile market will accelerate, and the production of related upstream and downstream industries such as robots will also accelerate.At the same time, the country vigorously develops the Internet of Vehicles and Industrial Internet industries.applicationand other related high-tech industries, which has accelerated the pace of landing of robots in multiple industries.
And foreign markets will inevitably introduce relevant stimulative policies after the epidemic. Analysis believes that the global auto industry may usher in a wave of small climax after the epidemic. This is undoubtedly good news for the new energy vehicle industry and the Robot industry.
Robots are used on a large scale in the automotive industry
At present, the global automobile manufacturers have used a large number ofIndustrial Robot, the utilization of robots in automobile assembly and parts production continues to increase. In addition, the improvement of robot raw materials and technology is reducing the cost of products, and manufacturers are more willing to invest in robots to reduce labor costs.
However, in the original automotive industry, robots were mainly used for processes such as cutting, welding, painting and assembly, and some easy-to-deploy, lightweight and space-saving robots gradually penetrated into the production line.E.gParallel robot, Due to the high speed and flexibility of parallel robots, they can be used in the production and processing of some small parts, and are being favored by the automotive industry. According to analysis, parallel robots in the automotive industry will maintain an annual growth rate of 4%.
also,scara robotIt has also found a place in the automotive industry. It is expected that by 2024, the demand for SCARA robots in the automotive industry will exceed 30,000 units. SCARA robots are increasingly used in high-speed assembly, and their low energy consumption and fast processing capabilities have increased their usage in the automotive field.
At present, the four major robot families are the main suppliers of robots in the automotive industry.Fanuc,abb,KukaHe YASKAWA occupies most of the global automotive robot market. In addition, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Omron and Stäubli have also become important players in the automotive industry.
Recently, KUKA received an order from automotive giant BMW for 5,000 industrial robots, which are mainly used in body-in-white production and other technologies. In addition, KUKA has received a contract for a million-dollar automatic battery pack production line, and more than 50 KUKA industrial robots will be put into some high-level battery production systems.
Similarly, as a global leader in robotics, Fanuc also signed a framework agreement with BMW to supply 3,500 robots for its new production lines and factories. At present, FANUC has more than 110 types of robots, and it is the manufacturer with the widest range of robots in the world. Among them, the M-2000 large-scale robot has a carrying capacity of up to 2.3 tons, which can easily lift a whole car.
Robot manufacturers are using AI and 5G technologies to enhance the functionality of their products. Some time ago, ABB said that it has cooperated with Ericsson to build flexible vehicle manufacturing, using Ericsson’s 5G connection to integrate with ABB’s time-sensitive network to help automotive factories achieve reliable and timely data transmission, thereby enhancing the capabilities of robotics and automated production lines, and reaching space. saving effect.
Traditional industrial robots have been maturely applied in the automotive industry, and some new technologies will become breakthroughs. In addition to the parallel robots and SCARA mentioned above, collaborative robots are also a good direction.
At present, FANUC has launched a large-load collaborative robot, such as the CR-35i, which can pick up and place 35kg objects. This robot does not need a safety fence and can work with people. It is suitable for the processing and production of some large parts, making automobile manufacturing more intelligent. and flexible.
new pineThe financial report disclosed this morning also showed that in mid-2019, the automated assembly and inspection production line in the automotive industry was SIASUN’s most important customer after aerospace.
In general, there is still a lot of room for development of robots in the automotive industry. With the popularity of new energy vehicles, major automakers will need to invest in electric vehicle factory production lines. At present, this trend has become very obvious. Some auto manufacturers are closing traditional factories and putting funds into the layout of new energy vehicles.
The production of new energy vehicles will use a lot of industrial robots, as well as some new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, 5G, cloud computing, etc.Robots are also transforming into intelligence, including adaptive robots, collaborative robots, etc. I believe thesesmart robotProducts will win more automotive market share.
Automobile production involves many upstream and downstream links, and the global spread of the epidemic will be a severe test for any automobile company. Auto companies have relative advantages compared to other industries in terms of personnel, venues and equipment. Therefore, many auto companies have switched production of anti-epidemic materials. While fulfilling their social responsibilities, they have accelerated technological innovation and model innovation. Form the innovation ability of key technologies in the industrial chain cluster, and promote the transformation and upgrading of the automobile industry. In the long run, after the innovation, transformation and development of the automotive industry, replacing humans with machines is the best way out.
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