As the adoption of AI and automation technologies accelerates, securing and retaining human resources has emerged as the biggest challenge.

Rockwell Automation, Inc., the world's largest industrial automation and digital transformation company, released the '2025 State of Smart Manufacturing Report: Automotive Industry Edition' on the 17th.

This report contains the results of a survey of 130 industry leaders, including automotive and tire manufacturers, equipment OEMs, EPCs and system integrators from 15 countries around the world.

The auto industry cited 'securing and retaining talent' as its most pressing issue over the next 12 months.

Compared to last year, the share of workforce-related challenges has increased dramatically, with 37% of automotive and tire manufacturer respondents citing ‘change management to help their organizations effectively embrace new technologies and processes’ as their most important challenge in the next 12 months, followed by securing (31%), retaining (33%), and rising labor costs (36%) as key issues.

Technology investment remains strong. Automotive and tire manufacturers are steadily investing in AI, production monitoring, and cybersecurity, with 62% of respondents citing “long-term business impact” as the top reason for investing in the technology.

Additionally, ‘expanding production capacity (58%)’ was also identified as an important investment motive.

In particular, automakers are leading the way in investing in new technologies such as generative AI, robotic process automation (RPA), and digital tools, with the primary goals of technology adoption being to improve safety, strengthen cybersecurity, ensure regulatory compliance, reduce costs, and minimize risks.

AI use cases were prominent in quality control, robotics, and process optimization. The response rate that viewed AI as a ‘risk factor’ decreased from 24% in 2023 to 14% in 2025, showing a significant decrease in resistance to adopting AI and automation technology.

“In an era where AI and automation are transforming the factory floor, the future and success of automotive manufacturing depend on investment in talent as well as technological innovation,” said James Glasson, vice president of global industrial operations at Rockwell Automation. “Enhancing technological capabilities and human-centered innovation are key drivers of smart manufacturing growth.”

'Automotive Industry Edition' is an excerpt from the 10th Global Smart Manufacturing Survey (total of 1,560 people) conducted jointly by Rockwell Automation and Sapio Research. The full report can be found on the Rockwell Automation official website.