Flexible production systems as an answer to a volatile environment

Abstract

The production of automobiles and internal combustion engines must be viewed in the context of complex structures with numerous influencing factors. It is bound by current legislation, is influenced by new developments on a technological level, and takes its orientation from the current market situation. These factors are also subject to an increasingly rapid rate of change. [12]

In this context, the production of engines involves a large number of changes that influence economic efficiency. For example, the regulations with regard to emission limits and the permitted CO2 emissions of internal combustion engines are becoming increasingly stringent. There are calls for accelerated implementation of these new specifications; the reaction times for manufacturers are falling steadily. In Europe, the CO2 fleet limit value is to be lowered to 95 g/km - and thus by 38% - from 2015 to 2020/21. [4] Associated with this is a significant tightening of the emission regulations (real driving emissions, RDE). Further reductions over and above this are under discussion. A similar tightening of regulations can be seen in the USA, China, and Japan. Furthermore, the growing desire for individuality leads to an increasing variety of versions as a result of ″mass customization″ [2]. The driving factors behind the variety of versions include not only internal combustion engine technology or the number of cylinders but also to an increasing extent local emission variants and additional technologies that have repercussions for the internal combustion engine. Moreover, in the last few years the BMW Group has developed into one of the highest-volume provider of electrified vehicles and the continued spread of eMobility is imminent. [7, 8]