New Lean - The New Production System Paradigm for the Automotive Industry
Thomas Bauernhansl Executive Director, Fraunhofer-Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation
With approx. 800,000 direct employees and a volume of 580 billion USD in 2023, the automotive industry is the largest and most important industry in Germany. In this decade, the automotive industry is faced by multiple disruptive changes such as the electrification of the powertrain, new forms of mobility, software defined cars and production processes.
This presentation highlights the necessary characteristics for production systems of the future while going into detail on the corresponding building blocks from digital transformation and artificial intelligence, including practical examples from industry. The presentation closes with findings from the “New Lean” initiative, aiming to develop a new and innovative holistic production system approach that envisions environmentally neutral production at 100% higher productivity by 2035. This initiative is backed by an industrial consortium that includes the COOs of Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, BMW, Siemens, and the CEO of Dürr.