Top 10: Automated Factories

Demand for automated robotics and Industry 4.0 technologies is growing. Statistics from the International Federation of Robotics on industrial robots showed 542,000 robots installed in 2024, which is more than double the number 10 years ago. 

As companies across manufacturing industries race for new ways to streamline and speed production, some factories have emerged as leading the field, powered by AI with production lines led by automated processes.

To rank the Top 10 automated factories globally, Manufacturing Digital considered the degree of autonomy, AI implementation, output and efficiency, external recognition and sustainability of the sites. 

10. Xiaomi Smartphone Factory

Location: Beijing, China
Year opened: 2024
CEO: Lei Jun

Xiaomi claims to operate a fully-automated assembly line at its “lights-out plant" that makes a phone every six seconds. 

Its complex in Beijing covers about 81,000 square metres and has plans for further expansion, according to EuroNews, who toured the facility earlier this year. 

The Chinese electronics and smartphone manufacturer reports an overall automation rate of 81% at the site. 

Its annual output is at 10 million units and EuroNews reports 220 workers oversee the automated production line. 

9. Hyundai Metaplant America

Location: Georgia, US
​​​​​​​Year opened: 2025
CEO: José Muñoz

Hyundai describes its site in the US as a highly-connected, automated and flexible manufacturing system where all processes of production are optimised utilising AI.

It says its manufacturing system in Georgia is designed to create a human-centered work environment with robots assisting human workers to build more than 500,000 vehicles per year.

Adding to its robots already in use at the plant, Hyundai plans to integrate Boston Dynamics Atlas humanoid robots across Metaplant America, enabling it to perform real-world tasks on-site by roughly 2028. 

8. Bosch's Blaichach Plant

Location: Oberallgäu, Germany
Year opened: 1960
CEO: Dr. Christian Fischer

In Blaichach, Bosch manufactures, among other things, high-tech systems for active driving safety, brake boosters and camera systems.

At the production facility, Industry 4.0 software suite reads out data from more than 60,000 sensors and delivers the relevant information to workers who monitor electronic car safety systems as they roll off the automated line. 

AI has been implemented at the site in quality control and is supported by what Bosch describe a a “self-learning system” that uses the data it has to recognise error patterns.

7. Foxconn’s Bắc Giang Site

Location: Bắc Giang, Vietnam
​​​​​​​Year opened: 2021
CEO: Michael Chiang

Foxconn’s site in Vietnam is the country's first World Economic Forum (WEF) Lighthouse factory. Its electronics factory integrates AI, IoT and big data for end-to-end management.

According to the WEF, by implementing more than 40 Industry 4.0 use cases, including advanced planning and AI-driven automation, the site improved labour productivity by 190%, achieved 99.5% on-time delivery and cut manufacturing costs by 45%.

Key technologies at the site enable a flexible production model, which Foxconn says address cross-border challenges and meet global demands for diverse, small-batch production.

6. Schneider Electric El Paso

Location: Texas, US
​​​​​​​Year opened: 2023
CEO: Oliver Blum

Schneider Electric’s manufacturing site for electrical equipment was recognised by the WEF as the first Engineer-to-Order Lighthouse facility in June 2026. 

Spurred on by massive data centre demand, the site increased on-time delivery from 61% to 97%, reduced lead times by up to 35% and eliminated US$43m in backorders by deploying IoT and advanced AI solutions across its engineer-to-order value chain.

Schneider Electric says the site leverages advanced analytics and connected systems to align engineering, manufacturing and supply chain operations, ensuring faster and more reliable delivery of tailored solutions to customers.

5. FANUC Oshino-mura

Location: Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan
Year opened: 1981
CEO: Kenji Yamaguchi

FANUC’s factories have long been renowned for their automation and use of flexible manufacturing systems and the company is considered an original pioneer of “lights-out manufacturing”, a testament to what it builds, as a manufacturer of factory automation. 

CNN reported, as far back as 2003, that robots at Fanuc’s site, which is near Mount Fuji, were building other robots at a rate of about 50 per 24 hour shift and ran unsupervised for as long as 30 days at a time. 

FANUC says that automation and robotisation are actively promoted at its sites, as can be seen in the achievement of long hours of continuous unmanned machining. The Japanese company adds that its factories are highly automated and all devices are connected to a network.

4. Haier Washing Electrical Appliances Plant

Location: Shanghai, China
Year opened: 2022
CEO: Zhang Ruimin

Haier, which owns GE Appliances, launched its Shanghai site as a new production base in 2022. The highly automated site was awarded a WEF Lighthouse in Productivity earlier this year. 

Using its in-house industrial IoT (internet of things) platform and advanced technologies such as genAI-enabled 3D modelling and deep learning, the site increased production by 37%, improved delivery efficiency by 40% and cut conversion costs by 33%.

The Chinese Government says that Haier’s Shanghai washing machine smart plant, at full operation, can produce two million machines and hit an output value of CN¥5bn (US$736m) annually. 

3. BMW Group Plant Debrecen

Location: Debrecen, Hungary
​​​​​​​Year opened: 2025
CEO: Milan Nedeljković

BMW’s Debrecen plant has been developed in line with the BMW iFACTORY concept, built on digitalisation and designed for efficient and sustainable operations. BMW calls it its “newest and most innovative production site”.

It claims complete digitalisation of production processes at the site. For example, sensors and camera systems along the production line are used to automate quality processes. 

The German automaker says AI evaluates the data and provides real-time feedback to employees on the assembly line. 

In addition to the site's in-house logistics being fully electric, high-voltage electric vehicle batteries are assembled directly on site. 

Taking a lead in sustainability as well as technology implementation, it is the first BMW car plant to rely entirely on electricity from renewable energy during normal operation. 

2. GlobalFoundries Fab 7

Location: Woodlands, Singapore
​​​​​​​Year opened: 2023
CEO: Tim Breen

Awarded a WEF Lighthouse for Productivity in 2025, GlobalFoundries’ highly automated semiconductor manufacturing facility in Singapore implemented more than 60 Industry 4.0 use cases to tackle increasing process complexity, meet more stringent quality requirements and accelerate prototype development. 

The site built what the WEF calls “a holistic transformation team”, partnering with AI vendors and universities across four impact areas: machine learning-based predictive maintenance, remote support enablement, machine learning-powered quality control and workflow digitalisation. 

As a result, labour productivity improved by 40% and new product introduction prototyping time improved by 30%.

Niels Anderskouv, President and Chief Operating Officer at GlobalFoundries, says: “Our digital transformation is instrumental in accelerating GlobalFoundries’s ability to deliver differentiated, essential chips that power AI growth and adoption, while meeting the demands of fast-evolving markets such as mobile, automotive and IoT.”

1. Siemens Electronics Works Amberg

Location: Amberg, Germany
​​​​​​​Year opened: 1989
CEO: Roland Busch

Siemens makes Simatic programmable logic controllers which are used in industrial manufacturing processes, cruise ships and automobiles at the electronics production site in Germany. 

Production functions on a largely automated basis, with 75% of the value chain handled independently by machines and robots.

With more than 350 production changeovers per day, a portfolio containing roughly 1,200 different products and 17 million Simatic components produced per year, the Siemens site in Amberg is a manufacturing marvel. 

A digital twin is responsible for the fact that Simatic controller components are now produced within a target cycle time of eight seconds. Production quality at the site is at 99.9988%, where within 24 hours, products for around 60,000 customers worldwide are prepared for delivery.

Earlier this year, Siemens announced it is planning extensive renewal of its site with a €200m (US$228.6m) investment in a new building for self-learning, autonomous and highly flexible manufacturing operations that are partly controlled by AI.