How vehicle manufacturers are embracing collaborative robots to drive operational efficiency

The global automotive sector faces significant challenges as we shift toward a more connected, intelligent vision for the future of vehicles

February 12, 2025Universal Robots

Significant change is being driven by new and emerging technologies, market volatility that requires rapid innovation, and the shift to EVs and autonomous vehicles. These factors are shortening product life cycles and transforming how cars are manufactured.

As advanced manufacturing techniques and leading-edge tech capabilities redefine what is possible, a critical skills shortage in areas like arc welding, assembly, machine tending, quality inspection and screw driving is slowing time to market.

The average vehicle already contains 1,800 subsystems and 30k parts and, as the complexity of manufacturing processes increases, OEMs and manufacturers must find new ways to become more efficient, sustainable and productive.

To remain competitive and relevant within a business landscape defined by change, they must reimagine the production line to be more seamless and connected. They need increased speed, accuracy and efficiency to simplify long term strategic delivery.

Supporting even high-precision use cases

To meet these challenges and rapidly accelerate efficiency at scale, businesses are turning to collaborative robots. Cobots boost performance, support increased agility and unlock operational efficiency.

The automotive sector is already the biggest adopter of industrial robots, accounting for 33% of all installations in the US last year.

It is easy to see why, with cobots like those built by Universal Robots supporting more complete control and command of every area of vehicle production.

Increasingly, their ability to work rapidly, with extreme accuracy and precision is enabling auto makers to accelerate performance and realize their vision for automotive including EV, autonomous and SDV vehicles while meeting factory quotas.

Indeed, McKinsey estimates that cobots can increase productivity by up to 20%, driving operational efficiency and supporting more rapid delivery of complex new products.

Universal Robots’ platform puts cobots at the heart of robot/human collaboration bringing complete transparency across all operational data, use cases and reusable programs to provide visibility into operations everywhere.

PolyScope, our industry-leading software, redefines how automation is handled, programmed and delivered, making individual cobots and wider ecosystems more accessible and effective for a wider range of users and applications.

UR Connect makes it simple and safe to monitor and control cobot and fleet performance from anywhere, using any device. Our partner ecosystem and UR Academy help drive innovation and leading-edge use cases.

All of this means that businesses can swiftly identify and remediate bottlenecks, minimize production risks and execute high-precision use cases with accuracy.

Your future-proof platform for robotic collaboration

Universal Robots brings a platform for robotic collaboration to unleash the potential manufacturers’ workforce, accelerate operational efficiency and underpin innovation across a diverse range of use cases.

Our cobots are intuitive to operate and are designed to support skilled workers, minimizing risk, accelerating productivity and enabling complete transparency across all operational data.

PolyScope software enables templatization and customization of functions, and everything is delivered under a single SLA for total assurance.

We work with a diverse range of automotive businesses to accelerate ROI and unlock new value.

Empowering Vitesco Technologies through complete precision

Vitesco Technologies is a leader in the production and development of components for endothermic engines, regeneration systems and manufacturing injectors. By installing 24 cobots across production lines, we worked closely with the business to improve ergonomics on complex assembly work in order to guarantee reliable repeatability, improved accuracy and precision. Vitesco Technologies has now been able to automate component loading and unloading while cutting cycle times by 11%.

Our collaborative robots have freed up line operators to focus on higher-value tasks such as innovation and strategic initiatives by removing up to 70% of repetitive, ergonomically challenging operations. With built-in safety functions and flexible positioning, UR cobots can be moved securely throughout the factory environment to add adaptability to high-precision workflows and accelerate ROI.

Doubling work capacity for Toyota Motor Hokkaido

Toyota Motor Hokkaido manufactures transmissions, axles and parts for Toyota vehicles in Japan.

The business approached Universal Robots to help build an ecosystem of collaborative robots to improve operational efficiency and capacity across its production lines.

We worked closely with the business to help deliver a 98% process utilization rate, reducing error and anomaly rates while increasing human-robot collaboration.

Universal Robots cobots accelerate operations by transferring workpieces to the next conveyor safely and can be easily configured to accommodate new models and physical requirements.

Working with intelligent collaborative robots has allowed the business to double work capacity on assembly lines while decreasing overall production system costs.

Enabling the future of connected auto manufacturing

Our collaborative robots can be deployed rapidly with seamless integration with your existing workflows to unlock the power of incremental automation.

By working closely together, we can enable your business to rapidly scale production, enhance production line efficiency and realize ROI more quickly. So you’re always at the cutting edge of change.

Our cobots seamlessly integrate into any workflow, production process, or system, delivering unmatched flexibility to meet evolving demands.

They enhance safety, precision, and efficiency, empowering your workforce to minimize errors and improve job satisfaction.

With future-proof innovation at our core, we solve today’s challenges while anticipating tomorrow’s needs.

Learn more about the impact of collaborative robots in the automotive sector.

Universal Robots

Universal Robots delivers industrial-grade collaborative automation built to perform, scale, and last. Combining lightweight, high-performance hardware with intuitive PolyScope software, certified safety, cybersecurity and open interfaces, Universal Robots enables manufacturers and integrators to deploy automation faster, reduce risk, and evolve toward AI-supported production—across applications, sites, and industries.

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