Industrial robots in the Japanese automobile industry – Robot equipment trends in a time of steady growth

Purpose – Reports on trends in the design and application of robots in the Japanese automotive industry. Design/methodology/approach – Surveys the business practices of Japanese automotive manufacturers and their plants in Japan and overseas Findings – Since, the 1990s, Japanese auto‐manufactures have expanded their main business activity in the overseas countries where they had to construct new factories with robot equipment. It was difficult because many new problems were experienced. But the production engineers devised the approach of improving efficiency in domestic factories and then quickly constructing overseas factories based on their experience and connections formed in the 80s. Incremental improvements in practices and the application of off‐line programming characterise recent developments. Originality/value – Highlights the technical and strategic developments by major robot users.