As one of the world’s leading enterprises in the fields of industrial automation, informatization and digital transformation, Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK) recently released the research results of the 10th annual “State of Smart Manufacturing Report: Automotive Edition”. This global survey received responses from 130 responsible persons, covering automotive and tire manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers, engineering procurement companies and system integrators from 15 countries and regions. The results show that in order to remain competitive, the automotive https://heiautomation.com/industry is actively embracing changes.
Labor force has become an urgent challenge for automotive enterprises, which marks a significant change in the research results compared with last year. Meanwhile, concerns related to cyber security have declined, indicating that many manufacturers have made progress in ensuring the security of the digital environment.
James Glasson, global industry vice president of Rockwellhttps://heiautomation.com/ Automation, said, “The future of the automotive manufacturing industry depends not only on technological transformation but also on talent transformation.” As artificial intelligence (AI) and automation reshape the layout of production workshops, success will belong to those enterprises that attach great importance to talent investment. Skill improvement and innovation have now become the core driving forces for growth.
The global research results mainly include:
Labor pressure is increasing day by day: Automobilehttps://www.youtube.com/@%E6%9B%BE%E6%85%A7%E5%A9%B7-z6j/shorts and tire manufacturers say that the top labor-related challenge in the next 12 months is change management (37%) to ensure that employees and various departments can effectively adopt new technologies and processes. Other key issues include the employee retention rate (33%), the rising cost of skilled workers (36%), and the difficulty in recruiting new employees (31%).
· Technology investment remains strong: Automakers and tire manufacturers continue to increase their investment in AI, production monitoring and cybersecurity. More than 62% of the respondents believe that the main driver of technology investment is the long-term impact on business, followed by expansion or capacity increase (58%), a trend consistent with the overall survey conclusion in 2025.
The application momentum of AI is strong: Compared with 2023, the proportion of the automotive industry today that views the rise of AI as a risk has significantly decreased (14% in 2025 and 24% in 2023), and quality control, robotics, and process optimization have become the main AI use cases. In terms of planned investment in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), robotic process automation (RPA), and digital tools, automotive enterprises are in the leading position in terms of investment intensity.
Business outcomes drive transformation: The primaryhttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087291657130 goal of adopting technology remains consistent, which is to enhance quality, reduce costs, and lower security, cybersecurity, and compliance risks.
· Skills transformation in progress: To fill the labor gap of up to 7.9 million by 2030 *, manufacturers are not only increasing their investment in automation but also actively recruiting talents with AI experience, as well as those with soft skills such as communication skills, adaptability, and analytical thinking.
The “State of Smart Manufacturing Report: Automotive Edition” is part of a broader global survey by Rockwell Automation, which covered more than 1,500 manufacturing decision-makers. Click here to view the full content of the “Current Situation Report on Intelligent Manufacturing: Automotive Edition”.
“Global talent shortage may threaten global business growth” (Korn Ferry, 2018)
Methodology
This report is based on the responses of 130 managers and executives from 15 countries and regions around the world, including automakers, original equipment manufacturers (Oems), engineering https://heiautomation.com/product/procurement companies (EPCs), and system integrators. This report is part of the 10th annual “State of Intelligent Manufacturing Report”. The related Research work was jointly carried out by Sapio Research and Rockwell Automation, covering a total of 1,560 decision-makers from multiple industries.
About Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK) is one of the world’s leading enterprises in the field of industrial automation, informatizationhttps://heiautomation.com/product/ and digital transformation. We will fully leverage human imagination and the potential of technology to create more possibilities for humanity and make the world more productive and sustainable. Rockwell is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. As of the end of fiscal year 2024, it had approximately 27,000 employees and its business covered more than 100 countries and regions.