Automotive Manufacturing North America 2026 Agenda
Registration and coffee
Day 2 opening to Automotive Manufacturing North America
Need for speed: Accelerating production launches and product change management
As OEMs expand regional production and enhance product flexibility, speed of execution is becoming a competitive differentiator for North American manufacturing. This session looks at data, tools and collaboration processes helping OEMs to shorten launch cycles, simplify decision-making and balance speed with operational stability and quality.
OEMs and suppliers are moving fast to expand their vehicle models and powertrain offerings in the US and North America, including to produce a greater variety of ICE, hybrid and electric vehicles. But they are also under competitive pressure to shorten development cycles and speed up model updates and changeovers in plants without compromising quality, safety or efficiency.
This session delves into the shared data, tools and manufacturing engineering strategies that can help teams and suppliers to collaborate in real time across departments to reduce development cycles, improve change management and quicken time to market – all whilst improving launch performance and manufacturing processes.
Key focus areas:
- Integrating production and lineside processes into launch planning
- Ensuring launch and changeover speed do not compromise quality or safety
- Cross-functional execution to align launch goals and processes
- Leveraging real-time data, simulation and digital twins to reduce development and launch cycles
Silo breakers: Design and engineering for manufacturing excellence
This session explores how manufacturers are closing the gap between engineering and operations to drive out unnecessary complexity and to ensure production adds value and innovation to products and to customers, including through design-for-manufacturing, greater standardisation and close collaboration across departments.
Automotive manufacturers in the US and North America need to combine maximum innovation in vehicle technology and innovation with the highest level of production standardisation, simplification and efficiency. Even as vehicles become more complex, with the integration of new materials, software, sensors and electronics, unnecessary cost and waste must be driven out from every step and part, from reducing superfluous fasteners to ensure plant tooling utilisation is maximised.
This session explores the need for tighter integration across departments and key stakeholders in the value chain, especially R&D and manufacturing engineering. Experts will share best practice and examples in design-for-manufacturing and design standardisation, sharing tools, technology and partnerships that holistically improve development and production planning.
Key focus areas:
- Influencing design and engineering decisions that shape cost and manufacturability
- Simplifying part and tooling complexity for new and existing model programmes
- Strategies to reduce late engineering changes and quality escapes
- Data and tools to enhance product and manufacturing engineering in parallel
Coffee break
Smart factory data strategies: IT/OT integration, interoperability and cybersecurity
Before scaling use of vision systems, AI and digital twins, automotive manufacturers need trusted, well-defined and secure data protocols that connect operations, equipment and planning across factories. In this session, learn how OEMs and technology leaders are strengthening their data and digital strategies.
The foundations for smart factory and AI-powered tools in production are laid with strong master data layers, including seamless connectivity across shopfloor, equipment and the cloud, as well as trusted, secure networks to store and share information. This session explores the essential and strategic steps that enable manufacturers and technology leaders to scale digital transformation and implement AI, including integrating IT and OT with seamless interoperability, building governance models for data sources and complexity, and ensuring the most secure, trusted ways to capture, store and share manufacturing data that prevent attacks and disruptions.
Key focus areas:
- Building an effective master data strategy for production
- IT/OT integration and data governance
- Cybersecurity of production plants and operations
- How these foundations can help scale implementation across analytics, AI, digital twins and more
The virtual factory: Validating value before it hits the shopfloor
Manufacturers, integrators and technology leaders explore how simulation and digital twins are transforming factory planning and operations, from cutting commissioning time and robot programming to enabling AI-driven workflows, virtual validation and greater automation across both brownfield and greenfield plants.
Carmakers and suppliers are increasingly leverage virtualisation and simulation tools when planning and adapting manufacturing, including to cut commissioning time, optimise layouts and accelerate scalable automation across brownfield and greenfield plants. This session brings together manufacturers, system integrators and technology leaders to show the current and future potential of simulation models and full digital twins, including for virtual validation, layout and tooling, as well as the potential for AI and autonomous agent workflows.
Understand where virtual testing can support both the ramp up and serial production, from cutting robot programming significantly, to exposing supply bottlenecks or market changes early enough to change programme decisions. Leaders will also discuss the organisational practices needed to make virtualisation effective, including data governance, cross‑functional input from engineering and operations, and guidance on building virtual assets that accelerate rollouts while containing cost and vendor risk.
Key focus areas:
- Virtual validation playbooks that cut commissioning time and changeover risk.
- Current and future uses cases for full-scale digital factory twins
- Methods for training robotics and software, as well as AI and autonomous agents in manufacturing flows
- Modular virtual assets that can be replicated across operations and plants
Lunch
A vision for robotics: Implementing automation’s rising potential at scale
Automation experts share practical, high-ROI deployments already delivering productivity, quality and safety gains, from computer vision and AI-supported inspection to autonomous robots and look ahead to the next generation of robotics and equipment transforming production and logistics.
Automotive manufacturing requires more advanced equipment and robotics to stay competitive, however investments are under scrutiny to deliver measurable ROI in good time. This session focuses on exciting but practical deployments of tools such as computer vision and visual inspection, precision measurement as well as flexible automation across production and logistics. Together, these systems and technologies can help OEMs to deliver productivity and manage higher levels of complexity, electronics and software.
Manufacturing and automation experts will share insights into use cases that deliver the best results, from visions systems that measure tolerances, reduce errors and detect defects, to the autonomous equipment and cobots that can support workers to operate faster, reduce risk and add more value. Learn more about the steps that can also speed up implementation, from reducing software variation, improving training and preventive maintenance considerations. Experts will also look ahead: to the exciting and stunning advances in areas of physical AI and understanding where it can be applied today and in the future.
Key focus areas:
- Automation with scale and ROI potential today, including flexible robotics, autonomous material flow and cobots
- Opportunities and use cases in computer vision and visual inspection systems
- Implementation and standardisation strategies
- Next generation: the potential and pitfalls for physical AI and humanoids
Humans in the loop: Investing in production workforce, skills and knowledge
As factories grow more automated and data-driven, people remain the critical asset. Industry leaders explore strategies to upskill workers, capture institutional knowledge, foster human-machine collaboration and build a workforce confident and capable of thriving alongside AI and automation.
Even as factories become more automated, data and AI-driven, automotive manufacturers increasingly recognise that they must support their most important assets: its people, equally from senior leaders, engineers and planners to those on the assembly and shopfloor. This session will explore ways to ensure that people work more safely and deliver more value and innovation, including enhancing technical capabilities and embracing new technology.
Leaders will discuss strategies to support, train and reskill workers, including how to capture institutional knowledge amongst an ageing workforce, whilst enabling teams to work confidently alongside AI and automation.
Key focus areas:
- Upskilling for digital and automated environments
- Ensuring technology and data supports objectives
- Human-machine collaboration on the shopfloor
- Knowledge retention amid workforce turnover
Coffee break
Interactive workshops – Problem solving and collaborating to propel North American automotive manufacturing
This workshop will explore technologies and equipment that that help manufacturers increase flexibility, including next-gen robots, AMRs and cobots that can automate tasks across greater product variation, faster material flow and complexity. This workshop will explore best practices for integrating new solutions faster than ever, implementation challenges and opportunities offered by physical AI and humanoids.
Key focus areas:
- Equipment that supports flexibility and variation in production
- Software, training and implementation considerations
- New opportunities in physical AI and humanoids
As manufacturing becomes more connected, operations could be put at serious risks through system, data and information leaks or attacks. This workshop explores cybersecurity as a key manufacturing priority rather than only an IT issue – and will discuss the tools, processes and playbooks needed to monitor, anticipate and react to threats.
Key focus areas:
- Securing connected production systems
- Governance and accountability for cyber risk
- Lessons from real-world incidents
This workshop will explore opportunities and use cases in computer vision in producing more complex, software-driven vehicles, including camera systems in plants, image processing for inspections and in-line measuring technology, and how such technology can be further enhanced with AI. Understand the tools, investments and data strategy that could take quality to a new level of excellence.
Key focus areas:
- Identifying the camera, radar and vision technology to support production
- Understanding the tools, processes and data required
- Opportunities for large-scale AI applications in vision systems
This workshop will explore how a more collaborative, integrated approach across vehicle development and manufacturing can reduce waste and cost, speed up development cycles and better ensure products meet both business and customer needs. Work with engineers and production experts on defining shared goals, implementing design-for-manufacturing strategies and making more holistic decisions.
Key focus areas:
- Aligning goals and performance across vehicle design and manufacturing engineering
- Technology and tools that support development and production integration
- Design-for-manufacturing opportunities
Work with data, mapping and digital experts to define the next developments in digital twins, including how OEMs and suppliers today can better visualise, virtualise and simulate current and changing production patterns. The workshop will unpack opportunities and bottlenecks in using this powerful technology.
Key focus areas:
- Connecting data and changes across production and equipment in real time
- Use cases for simulating and virtualising production changes and commissioning
- Opportunities for AI and agentic workflows in digital factory twins
Interactive Workshop Recap
Leaders and moderators from the workshops will share their insights, and moderators will summarise critical learning points.
American production 2035: Gaining control in an uncertain future
The conference finishes with detailed insight for the years ahead, featuring analysis and forecasts for the US and North American automotive manufacturing, shining a light on localisation and production investments, trade policy, shifts in electrification and the fast-changing competitive landscape.
Leave AMNA with more understanding and confidence in facing what is ahead. The North American automotive manufacturing landscape is undergoing its most significant transformation in decades, with fast changes in costs, regulation, electrification and trade policy all set to reshape competitive dynamics across the region. However, investment and localisation of production is set to rise further, with the implementation of new technologies essential to stay competitive.
This exclusive session delivers analysis and forecasts of the US and broader North American automotive manufacturing in the years ahead. Learn where investment is likely to flow, and how OEMs and suppliers will navigate an increasingly complex and fast-moving competitive landscape, and what strategic decisions made today will determine who is best positioned for the decade ahead.
Key focus areas:
- Tracking the changing shape of North American production, including investment, platform and localisation decisions
- Impacts of trade, cost and geopolitics on automotive manufacturing
- Where electrification is heading in the region
- The competitive shifts and players that will redefine the landscape across the 2030s
Reflection and conclusions
At the close of AMNA, we recap key takeaways and action points, with opportunities for participants to align on areas to work together after the conference. AMS will stay in touch with key leaders, report on key developments, and bring lessons learned forward across its future events, publications and livestreams.
Networking and drinks reception
Close the conference with a relaxed drinks reception to catch up and discuss the day with your fellow attendees.
Event closes: 20:00