The automobile industry has been at forefront of the artificial-intelligence boom. High-profile innovations such as self-driving vehicles and AI-powered features for driver-assist are often on the minds of consumers when they consider how machine learning is transforming everything around us. Audi is changing the way its cars are manufactured, not just by using AI.
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Manufacturers face a difficult balance as they integrate artificial intelligence into production processes, amid concerns about collateral damage. These doubts are not unique to AI. However, the rapid development of the technology increases the pressure on manufacturers to answer these questions as quickly as the technology itself. Audi, on the other hand, appears to be adopting a human centric approach, which changes how the German firm views its manufacturing process. According to an
Audi’s AI use can be classified into two broad categories, according to an interview with Rudiger Keckl and Stefan Keckl, two of the company’s AI experts, at the program’s launch in 2021. Audi says it has more than 100 AI projects in development that will, according to the company’s claims, increase the efficiency of production lines by 30%.
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Quality Assurance.
The easiest application of artificial intelligence on Audi’s production line is its use as a tool for quality assurance. According to Eck and Keckl AI is best suited to repetitive tasks. This allows employees to focus their attention on more important work. “a complex mixture of cognitive performance, physical movement, and sensory perception.”
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Audi’s Weld Splatter Detection System is one of the first AI applications. It analyzes data from Audi welding machines to determine each spot weld’s quality. Audi, in partnership with Siemens, can detect when molten bubbling forms along the undersides of vehicles, which can lead to damaged cables and wires, or long-term corrosive corrosion. The system has been extremely successful and a 2023 date is expected.
In a press releaseit is claimed that the tool can analyse 1.5 million spot welds in 300 vehicles within a single shift. Workers used ultrasounds to inspect welds randomly on vehicles. As a reference, the average Audi A6 has approximately 5,300 spot welds.
Audi’s Ingolstadt plant uses AI to evaluate the quality of pressed components. Before the rollout of the technology in 2018, workers used ultrasounds again to randomly inspect press parts. Before its rollout in 2018, workers again used ultrasounds to randomly inspect part presses.
A study from June 2024 shows AI-powered improvements can provide major efficiency gains for Audi’s factories. Roughly one out of every 1,000 pressed parts in a factory, which totals 3.1 millions a year, is cracked. Audi’s IRIS System, which uses AI-powered cameras to determine if vehicle technical labels are correctly applied, is also illustrative.
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Sorting through the “data swamp”
The AI program at Audi is a real asset because it can collect, store and analyze data. Imagine the factories as living systems that produce reams of information every second. Audi’s factories generate thousands of gigabytes per day of data, which learning models are able to collect and harness for the first. The learning models can then identify inefficiencies and pinpoint problem areas, transforming static operations into flexible, adaptive processes. Each step of production is now a data point that can be used to inform future decisions. This includes everything from the procurement tenders to the individual machines on assembly lines.
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Audi’s upcoming ‘Tender Toucan tool’, which is set to debut in the summer of 2025, filters suppliers’ bids for parts such as drivetrains and high voltage batteries according to a pre-defined list of requirements. This reduces the time employees have to spend evaluating tenders, by approximately 30%. The Toucan system is a perfect example of what Eck and Keckl envisioned in their vision for 2021: an AI-powered process that augments the human-driven process. Other examples include forecasting failures of equipment, reducing inefficiencies in logistics, and simulating a new production rollout. The company expects that these systems will reduce production time by up to 30 percent, and certain programs will reduce employee workloads and machine downtime.
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A hard balance
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This is not to say that Audi’s use of artificial intelligence is without risk. Much has been said in recent years about AI’s effect on global job markets. A 2025
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report (19459036) showed that 41% of companies plan to reduce their workforces in favor of AI. Goldman Sachs estimates that generative AI will automate half of U.S. jobs by 2045. These concerns are especially relevant for factory workers. A 2025 Pew Research Survey revealed that experts believe AI is going to have a significant impact on the industry’s employment opportunities. These projections may be less dire than the doomsday predictions of the previous decade when McKinsey and Company said AI could automate 70% of work and displace 800,000,000 workers by 2030. However, they still reflect the mounting concerns of a manufacturing industry that will see serious layoffs by 2025.
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The automotive industry is a good example. Ford, Tesla and Stellantis have all experienced layoffs due to a combination of tariffs, a slump in demand and changing market conditions. Honda Motor announced in March 2025 that it had reduced 30% of the workforce at its Guangzhou EV Plant due to redundancies within its AI systems. Audi announced a 8% reduction in its workforce by the year 2029. Audi has stated that while these cuts aren’t directly caused by AI programs they will invest a portion of their one billion euro in savings in the technology. The two tracts also reflect a larger trend where AI-powered automation in factories is correlated with job cuts across the industry. Audi is faced with difficult questions as it tries to balance technological advancements while reducing the collateral damage that such innovations can cause.
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