A Study on Trend Analysis: Use Cases for adaptation in electric vehicle assembly

Volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity characterize the current environment for automotive manufacturers. The transition to electric vehicles poses significant strategic challenges for production. In the face of these volatile conditions, heightened adaptability, and responsiveness in designing manufacturing systems are required to remain globally competitive. Determining the future direction of production necessitates an analysis of developments in the automotive industry. Previous work has highlighted future trends for the automotive industry in detail but has left out analyzing the interactions between the trends to illustrate the complexity and relevant drivers and enablers. This article presents the results of a quantitative literature review that identifies value-driving trends in the areas of product, process, and technology for electric vehicle assembly and evaluates their potential industrial application in terms of efficiency enhancement. This study identified the following key trends: (1) Artificial Intelligence (AI), (2) Automation, (3) Cloud Manufacturing, (4) Modularization, (5) Robotics, (6) Sensorics, (7) Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), (8) Digital Twins, (9) Internet of Things (IoT) and (10) Circular Car. The evaluation of trends and their application in final assembly are crucial for the sustainable success of automotive manufacturers, as the results can help develop action-oriented strategies to effectively guide future assembly processes.