Supported by the growing automotive industry, the automotive robotics technology market is growing steadily. As people's living standards improve, especially in developing countries, the demand for passenger cars and commercial vehicles will increase significantly, triggering a large demand for automobile production.
According to the latest research from Global Market Insights, by 2024, the automotive robotics market will grow from approximately $4 billion currently to $6 billion. General Motors is developing intelligent and electrified, and higher-level automobile production will further drive the demand for automotive robots. Automakers have begun to clear their inventories while developing and manufacturing new technology products.
The sudden outbreak of the epidemic has interrupted the established track of development and transformation of the automotive industry.
The global automotive market under the influence of the epidemic
At present, the domestic epidemic has been initially controlled, but the overseas epidemic is still spreading, and the situation in the global automotive industry is still not optimistic. As of April 27, 2020, there have been more than 2.81 million confirmed cases worldwide, with the United States and Europe being the hardest hit areas, and European and American companies have had to suspend production. According to incomplete statistics, there are currently about 38 multinational auto groups that have closed or plan to close factories, with a total of more than 150 factories.
As the epidemic spreads in Europe, car sales in Italy, France and Spain have fallen the most. General Motors, Ford and other auto companies have withdrawn their previously released 2020 financial performance targets and lowered their profit expectations. In addition, the three major automakers in Germany and the United States and the eight major automakers in Japan have also stopped production, reduced production and switched production to varying degrees. At the same time, more and more auto parts giants in Europe and the United States have stopped production, such as Bosch, Continental, Schaeffler, Magneti Marelli, Webasto, Veoneer, ZF, Brembo, Plastic Omnium, Magna, Michelin...
The automotive supply chain is the hardest hit area by the epidemic. With the continuous escalation of the global COVID-19 epidemic, the resumption of work of Chinese parts companies has been delayed, logistics and transportation have been blocked, and the supply chains of some multinational companies are facing the risk of supply interruption. The strict control measures taken by various countries on transportation, population mobility, etc. not only affect the industrial production of each country, but also the increasingly integrated global industrial chain has been challenged to a certain extent.
In order to ensure the normal operation of the company, in addition to General Motors being approved to produce ventilators, more than 12 multinational automakers including Ford, Fiat Chrysler, Tesla, Rolls-Royce, Volkswagen, Daimler, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, McLaren, and Ferrari have started preparations and production of ventilator equipment.
MIR Rui Industry has analyzed the impact of the current epidemic on the global automotive industry by understanding the status of automobile factories in various countries and automobile-related import and export sales data information.
(Source: MIR Rui Industry)
Under the overseas epidemic, the global auto market is in mourning. As of now, more than 150 auto factories in the world are in a "dormant" state, and the resumption period is still in question. A large number of overseas factories of multinational auto companies are in a state of suspension of work and production. Instead, China has 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.China's strategy after the epidemicFrom February 19 to March 30, the overall operating rate of Chinese auto industry enterprises increased from about 60% to 97%, and the employee return rate also increased from about 50% to 82%, basically returning to the same period last year.
The 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 introduced relevant documents to stimulate auto consumption, such as car purchase subsidies and relaxation of car purchase restrictions, including Foshan, Guangzhou and Zhuhai in Guangdong Province, 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.
(Source: China Automobile Industry Association)
The data also proves that the domestic COVID-19 epidemic has been effectively controlled, and the production and operation of enterprises have gradually resumed. The domestic automobile market has gradually recovered from the low point in February. From the overall situation in the first quarter, automobile sales were 3.672 million vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 42.4%. Exports were 204,000 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 11.5%. Imports were 199,000 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 23.2%.With the gradual implementation of the 31st batch of national policies on new energy vehicles such as the exemption of vehicle purchase tax, and the introduction of policies to promote automobile consumption by local governments, China's automobile market will accelerate recovery, and related upstream and downstream industries such as robots will also accelerate production. At the same time, the country vigorously develops related high-tech industries such as Internet of Vehicles and industrial Internet industry applications, which has accelerated the pace of landing of robots in multiple industries.
(Source: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology)
After the epidemic, foreign markets will inevitably introduce relevant stimulus policies. Analysts believe that the global automobile industry may usher in a small climax after the epidemic. This is undoubtedly good news for the new energy vehicle industry and the robot industry.Robots are widely used in the automotive industryAt present, global automobile manufacturers have already used industrial robots in large quantities, and the utilization rate of robots in automobile assembly and parts production is increasing. 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 expenses.But originally, robots were mainly used in cutting, welding, spraying and assembly processes in the automotive industry, while some easy-to-deploy, lightweight and space-saving robots have gradually penetrated into the production line. For example, parallel robots are favored by the automotive industry because of their high speed and flexibility, which can be applied to the production and processing of some small parts. According to analysis, parallel robots in the automotive industry will maintain an annual growth rate of 4%.In addition, scara robots have also found a place in the automotive industry. It is estimated 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, KUKA and Yaskawa occupy 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 for 5,000 industrial robots from the automotive giant BMW, 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 leading global robot company, FANUC has 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 robot models, making it the manufacturer with the widest range of robots in the world. Among them, the M-2000 large robot has a carrying capacity of up to 2.3 tons and 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 it was working with Ericsson to create flexible automotive manufacturing, using Ericsson's 5G connection integrated with ABB's time-sensitive network to help automotive factories achieve reliable and timely data transmission, thereby improving the capabilities of robots and automated production lines.And achieve the effect of space saving.Traditional industrial robots have been maturely applied in the automotive industry, and some new technologies will become a breakthrough. In addition to the parallel robots and SCARA mentioned above, collaborative robots are also a good direction.
At present, FANUC has launched large-load collaborative robots, such as CR-35i, which can pick up and put 35kg objects. This robot does not require 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.The financial report disclosed by Siasun this morning also showed that in mid-2019, the automated assembly and inspection production line in the automotive industry was Siasun's second most important customer after aerospace.In general, there is still a lot of room for development of robots in the automotive industry. With the popularization of new energy vehicles, major car manufacturers will need to invest in electric vehicle factory production lines. At present, this trend is very obvious. Some car manufacturers are closing traditional factories and putting funds into the layout of new energy vehicles.The production of new energy vehicles will use a large number of industrial robots, as well as some new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, 5G, cloud computing, etc. Robots are also transforming into intelligent ones, including adaptive robots, collaborative robots, etc. It is believed that these intelligent robot products will win more market share in the automotive industry.Automobile production involves many upstream and downstream links, and the global spread of the epidemic will be a severe test for any automobile company. Automobile companies have relative advantages in personnel, venues, and equipment compared with other industries, so many automobile companies have switched to the production of anti-epidemic materials. While fulfilling their social responsibilities, they have increased technological innovation and model innovation, accelerated the formation of innovation capabilities of key technologies in the industrial chain cluster, and promoted the transformation and upgrading of the automobile industry. In the long run, after the innovation, transformation and development of the automobile industry, replacing people with machines is the best way out.
