MINI to bring J01 all new electric hatch to the Oxford Plant for global export in 2027

It's not that big of a deal for a plant to switch over to a new model. They have an experienced workforce, just have to get the new equipment in, test/debug, train the workforce and ramp up production.

Starting from scratch with a new plant is much harder.

 

Yes but BMW is retooling to Industry 4.0 so it's only a matter of time until Skynet becomes self-aware. *cue Terminator music*

 

lolol

On a related note, every time I read about Industry 4.0 and every other catchphrase that writers want to go viral so they can get more writing/speaking gigs, it makes my eyes roll.

I've been in manufacturing from electrical to automation to IT for almost 30 years now. Yes things have changed, but it's incremental. I'm in automotive now and robots are tools, just like an impact gun or screwdriver. It still takes a human to know how to program it how to do the job. We have vision systems but they aren't AI-powered exept for 1 that can learn colors and tell when a part is 'different enough' to ask a human about it.

I lost my train of thought, but this might be a time period where historians look back and lump it in with 50 other years with some other catch-phrase that is in vogue then. I'll be dead then...