Volvo Cars has announced a collaboration with ABB to incorporate over 1,300 robots into the manufacturing of its next-generation electric vehicles. This initiative is part of Volvo’s efforts to achieve its stated sustainability targets. According to the announcement the deployment of these robots will begin in 2024 at Volvo’s production sites in Torslanda, Sweden, and Daqing, China.
ABB will supply a new family of energy-efficient large robots and OmniCoreTM controllers, which are expected to help Volvo Cars reduce energy consumption by up to 20 percent. The functional packages provided will cover various production tasks, including spot-welding, riveting, and dispensing, among others. These packages are combinations of hardware, software, and services designed for specific manufacturing processes.
The partnership also involves the use of ABB’s RobotStudio software, which allows for the planning and programming of robot deployment in a virtual environment. This is intended to ensure uninterrupted production and optimize the implementation process before the physical installation of the robots.
The collaboration between Volvo Cars and ABB is not new, as the two companies have a history of joint developments in car production and industrial robots. This latest agreement is part of a broader effort by ABB to support the automotive industry’s transition to electric vehicle production and to meet sustainability goals.
