"Smarter Car Factories... 6 out of 10 Located in China"

Automotive Research Institute's Report on Manufacturing Process Innovation Seen Through the Lighthouse Factory

Over the past five years, six out of ten 'Light House Factories' in the automotive sector have been located in China. The term Light House Factory refers to factories that lead manufacturing innovation by applying advanced technologies ahead of others, much like a lighthouse guiding ships. These factories are selected twice a year by the World Economic Forum (WEF). There was not a single automotive factory from South Korea among them.

According to a report compiled by Ja-Young Yoon, a senior researcher at the Korea Automotive Technology Institute, on the 28th, a total of 17 Light House Factories classified under the automotive industry were counted from 2019 to last year. This represents 11.1% of the total 153 factories selected across all industries, ranking third after the electrical and electronics industry and the bio-medical device industry.

The automotive manufacturing process is considered a rapidly changing field due to the convergence of electrification and the advancement of autonomous driving technologies. Researcher Yoon explained, "To meet the demands of autonomous manufacturing and electrification, as well as to innovate costs through parts standardization and respond to diversification such as customized products for individual demands, the use of advanced technologies to introduce various production methods is actively underway."

"Smarter Car Factories... 6 out of 10 Located in China"

Smart factory process of Shanghai Automotive Maxus in Nanjing, China
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Batteries, regarded as core components in the transition to electrification, require complex and precise processes. Additionally, other parts are increasingly adopting new process methods by modularizing through artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies.

By country, China accounted for 10 of the automotive Light House Factories, representing 58.8%. The Maxus plant, a commercial vehicle-dedicated factory of Shanghai Automotive in Nanjing, China, digitized the entire value chain, increasing productivity by 20% and reducing lead time (the time from order receipt to customer delivery) by 35%.

The GAC Aion plant, an electric vehicle-exclusive brand under Guangzhou Automobile in China, implemented an automatic scheduling system across more than 100,000 processes. The German parts manufacturer Bosch’s plant in Wuxi, China, digitized inventory management and used the Internet of Things (IoT) to monitor machine conditions. They increased equipment efficiency by 90% and lowered inventory rates by 10%.

[Source: Korea Automotive Technology Institute Industry Analysis Report]

The Sichuan Yibin plant of CATL, which has emerged as the world’s largest battery manufacturer, uses big data for quality simulation. By adopting additive manufacturing methods using virtual simulations and AI vision technology, they achieve micron-level (1/10^6 m) quality control. In process control and energy management, deep learning technology increased production by 320% and reduced manufacturing costs by 33%. They also achieved a 47% reduction in carbon emissions and a 99% decrease in quality defects.

When categorizing process innovations by type, equipment advancement accounted for 28%, data management 26%, and process and logistics automation about 18%. Areas such as linking demand and production data, integrating virtual and real data, and digital twin technologies were relatively less common.

Researcher Yoon stated, "With the digital transformation of the entire value chain, advanced automotive countries are focusing on building advanced manufacturing facilities. To secure the market for the transition to electrification and autonomy, changes on the production floor are a critical competitive factor." She added, "Close collaboration between automotive companies and equipment manufacturers is necessary to prioritize supplying equipment optimized for domestic labor conditions, work environments, and workers through joint research and development and other organic cooperation."