Moreover, as a number one priority to all major OEMs, cybersecurity concerns could well shape the way automotive manufacturing evolves into the next decade.
Cybersecurity Important To 95% Of OEMS; “Extremely Significant” To More Than Half
Overseen by both ABB Robotics and the Automotive Manufacturing Solutions media brand, the latest Automotive Manufacturing Outlook survey found that 95% of all respondents deemed cybersecurity a "significant" focus for automotive production across North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. Of that figure, more than half – 53% – considered it "extremely significant," with only 2% doubting its feasibility. An indecisive 3% were unsure, but were counted among that 95%, regardless.
This is the second year in a row that the AMS survey has listed cybersecurity in the number one spot. More so even than time-honored cost reduction concerns, which, while also considered significant by 95% of all respondents, was deemed extremely significant by only 52% of that figure.
That cybersecurity has gradually drawn in-line with saving money shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given the enormous shift towards digitization, connectivity, and automated production at most major OEM manufacturing hubs. After all, cybersecurity threats can affect Tier 1 and Tier 2 supply chains as well as OEMs, all of which can easily lead to delays in production, and disrupt the overall quality of finished products.
In one notable instance, a cyberattack on Jaguar and Land Rover’s IT system last year led to a complete shutdown of the UK brand’s production for 40 days. This led to all kinds of serious issues, including a production setback and company losses well into the millions of dollars.
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A recent 2026 Global Automotive Smart Mobility Cybersecurity Report, published last month, even found that cybersecurity threats targeting automotive and smart mobility organizations more than doubled in 2025, with 44% of them being direct attacks. If that figure doesn’t resonate, consider how irritating – and, frankly, scary – it can be if your credit card number is stolen, plus the time, and potential money, you lose getting it canceled and then replaced.
It should be noted, however, that cybersecurity threats were noted in the survey as "significant" to automakers over the next five years rather than an outright concern. Indeed, of the challenges OEMs will face, respondents cited energy and material costs (obviously), skilled labor shortages and costs, and tariffs among their biggest concerns moving forward.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, with cybersecurity evolving at such a dizzying rate, ABB’s survey offers no definitive answer to this ongoing problem. It states only that partnerships between OEMs and their respective technological partners will likely grow even stronger in the years to come. It should also be noted that, while CEOs and executives from OEMs and supply chains across the automotive industry were quizzed, ABB does not actually state how many respondents took part in the survey.
