Automotive under pressure ABB survey reveals problems in Europe and the US

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ABB Robotics conducted a survey in the automotive scene. According to this, Europe is plagued by energy costs, but the USA is suffering from rising wages.

A global survey titled "ABB Automotive Manufacturing Outlook Survey" was commissioned by ABB Robotics. The survey was conducted by industry specialist Automotive Manufacturing Solutions (AMS). The result looks like this: rising energy costs in Europe and escalating wage costs in the US are major challenges for the automotive industry. This is now the second survey by ABB Robotics within the automotive industry. More specifically, it found that over half (53 percent) of all respondents from Europe cited rising energy costs as one of their three biggest concerns. Only 38 percent of automotive players in Asia see this as a problem. In North America, however, 63 percent indicate that rising wage costs are a major concern. The problem in the US is likely exacerbated by recent union negotiations that have resulted in double-digit wage increases for their members. But solutions already exist that could reduce energy consumption at the production site. ABB points to new generations of "smart" robot controls such as Omnicore that could ideally reduce power consumption by 20 percent. This can be achieved through the use of advanced software, lighter materials and regenerative systems.

A lack of skilled workers threatens the transition to electric vehicle manufacturing

In the first ABB survey last year, industry experts were asked whether they consider the legal deadlines for the switch to exclusive production of electric vehicles to be realistic, according to a retrospective. This topic was revisited in this year's survey. The number of respondents who firmly believe that the switch can be implemented has fallen from 11 percent to 8 percent. Over half (53 percent) still believe that the goals can never be achieved - albeit six percent less than in the last survey. One reason why many doubt these deadlines for the switch to electric car production is concern about key skilled workers. About 54 percent attest to a lack of skilled workers having major negative effects on production, with respondents from Europe (52 percent) and Asia (58 percent) primarily citing a lack of specialist knowledge about electric vehicles and batteries as the main problems, according to ABB Robotics. ABB notes that the faster the production of electric vehicles progresses, the more important it becomes to qualify or retrain many employees and attract new talent to the automotive industry. The production of electric vehicles, coupled with the increasing proportion of software, electrical engineering and advanced electronics, requires new and different skills. The survey therefore reflects the view that more needs to be done in this regard.