December 9, 2025 Smart Automation Drives EV Manufacturing

Automation enables flexible EV and hybrid production with higher quality, lower costs, and greener manufacturing.

By Thomas Ernst, CSO & CTO of PIA Automation

The popularity and consumer skepticism of electrified vehicles have created a challenge for the automotive manufacturing industry. Electric vehicles (EVs), hybrids, and their associated supply chains are experiencing rapid growth in demand, and manufacturers must consider not only what they produce but also how they produce it. 

To remain competitive and keep up with rising demand, automotive manufacturers are increasingly turning to advanced automation solutions that enable scalable, flexible, and high-quality production. As production lines move away from internal combustion engines (ICEs) and into hybrids and battery-electric vehicles, smart automation is becoming increasingly important for manufacturers to meet the rising expectations for quality, sustainability, and agility. In addition, the adoption of automation reduces overall operational costs, minimizes downtime, and helps manufacturers respond more quickly to global economic uncertainties. By leveraging robotics, data-driven process monitoring, and artificial intelligence, companies can achieve faster time-to-market while still maintaining compliance with increasingly strict environmental regulations.

Shifts in the Market

Over the past few years, North America has received over $38 billion in investments for EV manufacturing. However, the latest market changes have caused major reevaluations and slowdowns for many large EV factory launches.

Due to factors such as rising material costs and inconsistent charging infrastructure, many manufacturers are opting for a broad variety of products over an EV-only approach. As a result, multiple vehicle platforms that were initially designed to be all-electric have now been scaled back to include both hybrid and ICEs. While this could be seen as a setback for electrification, it’s instead an adaptive response to shifts in market demand, supply chain pressure, and changing consumer needs and preferences, allowing manufacturers to remain competitive across areas with different levels of readiness for EVs.

Smart automation systems will enable manufacturers to quickly reset production lines and introduce new component parts cohesively, maintaining a consistent processing rate regardless of demand. In response to more customized production and consumer needs, these systems aim to achieve mixed-model production, EVs, hybrids, and ICEs, all managed and produced with no loss of quality and operational efficiency. 

The Flexibility of Manufacturing with Smart Automation

While the traditional auto manufacturing lines were set up for high-volume, low-variation production, that is no longer enough in the modern world. 

In today’s world, modern auto factories must now provide low-volume, high-variation production and keep up with unpredictable changes in the demand curve, particularly with the rapid rise in hybrids and the coexistence of full EVs and ICEs.

Flexible, modular automation systems enable auto manufacturers to produce a variety of vehicle types on the same production line. This approach reduces downtime and enables manufacturers to pinpoint bottlenecks, gain instant visibility into performance metrics, receive predictive maintenance alerts, and more. These capabilities help optimize resource allocation, reduce waste, and improve overall equipment effectiveness. 

Ensuring Precision and Product Quality

As electric and hybrid vehicles include new components, such as battery packs, inverters, and high-voltage wiring, their assembly requires extreme accuracy and quality control. These systems operate under higher voltages and safety-critical conditions, requiring higher standards than traditional systems.

Automation plays a massive role in meeting these elevated standards. It provides assurance, as tools and systems work to ensure that every component in the manufacturing process meets safety and performance measures. These technologies also enable the traceability of products, allowing manufacturers to monitor and document every step, ensuring high-quality standards are met throughout the manufacturing process. Automated inspection systems have the ability to detect small defects or misalignments that can go unnoticed to the human eye. This, combined with real-time data, enables continuous process improvement, supports compliance with safety regulations, and enhances the vehicles’ long-term reliability.

Sustainability with Automation

The automotive industry is also under growing pressure to improve its environmental and social impact. Regulations, investors’ expectations, and consumers’ values are driving the industry to prioritize sustainable manufacturing. 

Automation enables energy-efficient equipment, automated material tracking, and real-time environmental monitoring, which significantly reduces waste, emissions, and energy use at the factory. Automated systems can track materials throughout the supply chain and identify areas for improvement in the process, supporting recycling efforts. These improvements are crucial to the manufacturing process as manufacturers aim to meet environmental, social, and governance (ESG) targets and reduce their carbon footprint.

Sustainability isn’t just about machines and metrics; it also requires a workforce that is capable of driving the transformation. As automation systems become more intelligent and integrated, there is a growing demand for new skill sets across manufacturing, engineering, and IT. Talent with expertise in areas like robotics, AI, and EV-specific systems is essential for supporting long-term ESG initiatives. While many manufacturers are investing in sustainable technology, they are also reevaluating how to build and develop a workforce that is ready to help build the future of automation by redesigning roles, rethinking recruitment strategies, and forming new partnerships to help close the EV talent gap that threatens to slow down progress. 

As manufacturers strengthen their talent strategies, they are also expanding their use of digital tools to improve visibility and responsiveness. Virtual plant reviews, predictive analytics, and cloud-based monitoring are now helping teams make smarter and faster decisions. These tools enable manufacturers to make proactive changes, minimize downtime, and sustain ongoing process refinement across their facilities. They also enable real-time collaboration between cross-functional teams and suppliers, enhancing overall efficiency and accelerating problem-solving across multiple locations.

This need for flexibility and responsiveness is especially important as EV platforms continue to evolve. Manufacturers must be able to adapt to increased complexity and ongoing changes over time, such as updated battery chemistries, inverter designs, hybrid modules, and others, while also minimizing the need for system overhauls. Smart automation supports this modularity, allowing for quick reconfiguration and scalable upgrades without compromising quality or performance.

Conclusion:

As the automotive industry continues to adapt to regulations, changing consumer behavior, and shifts in the global supply chain, automation will play a crucial role in enabling manufacturers to manage uncertainty with confidence. With smart systems in place, manufacturers can reach customers where they are, build vehicles that respond to demand, and maintain an efficient, safe, and profitable process overall. In a time of complexity and constant change, automation is not just a technical solution, but a strategic foundation on which to build the future of the industry.

About the Author:
Thomas Ernst brings over 25 years of management experience in automation. He has been with PIA Automation, formerly IMA Automation GmbH, since 2010, holding various leadership roles, and has served as the Managing Director (CTO/CSO) since 2017. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical and Economical Engineering.

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