“Complete automation requires a revolution.”

Since February 2023, the Next2OEM research project has been working on developing a digitized and automated value chain – from wire harness development, through wiring harness production, to assembly into the car body. With funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the main aim of Next2OEM is to bring wiring harness production back to Germany.

The practical applicability of the research project has been validated over the course of 2025 at Audi in Ingolstadt, Germany, using the example of a center console, thereby laying the foundation for possible further development for series production. To this end, highly automated solutions for wiring harness production and assembly in the vehicle have been developed and linked together as a demonstrator. The developed concepts are intended to be scalable and adaptable to the entire wire harness scope for future vehicle projects.

The project has been supervised by Dr. Ingo Busche, Head of Development Wiring Harness Concept and Robust Design at AUDI AG, the consortium leader. We spoke to him to find out how the Next2OEM project went and what impact it will have on the future.

Dr. Busche, you have been working as Head of Development Wiring Harness Concept and Robust Design at Audi for five years and are leading the Next2OEM research project in Ingolstadt. What are the biggest challenges Audi is currently facing in wiring harness production and wire harness design?
We are observing a continuous increase in the functionality and electrical performance of our wire harnesses, which is leading to more weight, higher complexity and increased space requirements in the vehicle. We are also exploring changes to the classic domain architecture and adjustment to the voltage level. Our aim is to reduce the number of wire harness variants. Internally, we have major tasks ahead of us, such as the transformation of the automotive industry from a geometric 3D world to a software-defined vehicle organization. Software orientation also means that we are changing our mindset. For example, we have to adapt our development processes to a software-oriented design of our products. The wire harness plays a central role in this. Until now, we have very much operated in the world of 3D wire routing, but today we are increasingly involved in the field of data, software and E/E architecture – the structure and design of the electrical and electronic systems in a vehicle.

Next2OEM focuses on cooperation between OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers and technology partners. What was Audi’s original motivation for advancing this project?
Back in 2022, I held a presentation at the Bordnetzkongress in Ludwigsburg in which I highlighted that we see automation as part of our competitiveness. It is an important element in securing Germany's position as a business location. There is great potential for improvement in OEM production with regard to automation of wire harnesses, which currently stands at less than 10 percent. We are convinced that automation will only work if it is scaled across the entire industry, not just implemented as an individual solution for AUDI AG or the Volkswagen Group. This joint project has certainly achieved more than a pre-development project of our own would have. The findings should also help to strengthen Germany’s position as a business location and ensure its international competitiveness. We must not forget that we are competing with Asia and North America.

The aim of Next2OEM is to digitize and heavily automate the entire value chain of wire harness production. What advantages does Audi expect from these processes?
We were convinced from the outset that the aim of the project had to be the maximum degree of automation. And this is only possible if the entire value chain is integrated. We wanted to make real progress and use the research project to explore together how we must develop in order to integrate automation in the future. As far as current developments are concerned, this relates to the physical structure of the vehicle, the digital data and its networking, with the research project focusing mainly on validation of the data side. Next2OEM is supported at Audi both in wiring harness development and in production, through the Audi Production Lab. We are therefore already bringing together two business areas that feed in to the value chains at Audi.

In reality, wiring harness production still depends on a large number of manual work steps. Where do you see the greatest potential for automation?
That’s not an easy question to answer: the sort of complete automation that Next2OEM is striving for has to be close to the manufacturing OEM plant, flexible, responsive, and deliver consistently high, measurable quality. This also includes a data room with all the information, which will become increasingly important in the future. The advantages here are obvious. By contrast, automation of individual process steps at current production sites is a manufacturer-dependent, technical evolution based on classic KPIs. These two approaches are difficult to compare, as different automation steps are relevant depending on the manufacturer.

In my view, small, technical, evolutionary automation steps are not the way to achieve our goal. Complete automation requires a revolution. Our clear aim is to achieve the highest possible degree of automation, because what we are seeing in terms of production automation within the research project is in an evolutionary step already possible at suppliers in China and Japan today. We want to develop our wire harnesses in such a way that we can achieve the same level of automation in our products, and we have already made significant progress in this. At the same time, we need a manufacturer whose automated production is cost-effective.

To what extent does zonal architecture of the wire harness in the vehicle play a role in the project?
New E/E architectures, such as zonal architecture, are a key element in reducing complexity in the wire harness. The new design, divided into geometric zones, offers smaller wire harness modules in the vehicle that are easier to automate. Currently, wire harnesses are often divided into functional zones, such as audio or air conditioning. This leads to larger, interdependent structures.

However, it would be wrong to argue that automation is not possible in a domain architecture, because this is exactly what we are demonstrating here. We have been using a closed kit in the project, specifically the center console from a current Audi product. With customer-specific wire harnesses as we know them today – an interior wire harness, for example – automation is hardly possible at the moment. So the question has been how far we want to jump.

Looking at the wire harness, geometric zones would certainly be preferable to functional ones. Small, compact and low-variant wire harnesses are more likely to be feasible in new architectures and are more suitable for automation. But what is desirable from the point of view of the wire harness often does not match the reality of the vehicle.

Why has the topic of wires and their processing become so important for Audi? Traditionally, this area is the left to the suppliers.
The number of functions in the premium segment is growing, and with it the number of wire harnesses and the need to find a solution to cope with increasing costs, weight and ensure feasibility of assembly. At the moment, we see E/E architectures as the most promising area for these solutions. New architectures are helping to restructure conventional customer-specific wire harnesses into zonal approaches that favor automation.

If we want to automate, we have to take this into account at the development stage. But we first have to establish the necessary expertise, and we believe that the best way to do this is to look at the entire value chain. We do not want simply to pass this task on to the manufacturers, we at Audi want to learn how to develop in a way that facilitates automation. An understanding of the data room and how it can work with the complexity of a wire harness helps here. I admit that in the past, I was not very interested in the data that a Komax machine needed. Things are different now, we have realized that mutual understanding within the digital value chain is extremely valuable.

What requirements does Audi place on its suppliers for the production of wire harnesses?
In future, we will focus more heavily on the automation of wire harnesses in both the low-voltage and high-voltage areas. This will include a clear definition in the specifications. And we will check the level of automation for the wire harnesses that we purchase. It will be exciting to see what feedback we receive from manufacturers on various projects, including in the context of cost-effectiveness.

The Next2OEM project will be completed in a few days. How has it gone and what conclusions can you draw from it?
It has gone very well. All our partners have pulled together and been highly motivated. This naturally makes life easier as the consortium leader. By working on the entire value chain, we have learned from each other. We have all understood why ultrasonic welding is an important part of the process, for example, and how and why complexity and variance must be reduced.

We can see very clearly that automated pre-assembly by the OEM will only work with automated wire harness production. This realization is important because it means that we have our purchasing to be organized accordingly and we must be supplied automatically. We have recognized that we in Europe are in a strong position to achieve results that are unique in the world thanks to our good networking in the value chain. What we have implemented here with the Next2OEM project is unique in the world. It puts us in a position to provide impetus to the industry, both in terms of digitalization and physical implementation. Another consequence is that the inhibitions about moving forward with automation and drilling down into detail are less of an obstacle among the colleagues involved.

What consequences do these findings have for the future at Audi?
The first step will be to discuss the issue of wire harness automation in even more depth at Audi and within the entire Volkswagen Group. The Group’s working committees have seen the Next2OEM project live on site, we are sharing the findings among the brands and, of course, using them across the Group, because scaling is one of our strengths.

Other technical areas are also making efforts towards automation. If even the production of flexible parts can be automated, it suggests that similar steps are also possible for other components. The resulting effect is interesting. We will be able to see what impact the project has on our products over the next two to five years. With Next2OEM, we have achieved pre-industrial results that could be implemented in product development at the next stage.

As a partner in Next2OEM, Komax has brought plenty of experience in automated wire processing to the table. How important has this automation expertise been for the success of the project?
It has been an extremely important contribution, as Komax has many interfaces with its partners. This includes everything from the digital data, through the wire harness components, to the wire harness manufacturer. Even more important, however, is the perspective that Komax offers. In our view, the company has recognized how a very high level of production automation can be achieved. If we want to achieve our goals, we will have to have a degree of automation of over 90 percent in production. This is a very high level, even in comparison with the competition from Asia.

Can you give us any examples of where Komax has contributed significant added value to the project?
If we disregard the combination of the Sigma, Zeta and Omega machines to one side, there are essentially three points: Firstly, Komax guarantees a high level of delivery reliability and quality in production, which has motivated and driven all partners forward. Komax has also shown a genuine interest in the entire value chain, made an active contribution, and asked all the right questions. Secondly, the insights we were able to gain in the area of splice design in the center console wire harness were very important and valuable for us. And thirdly, development of the taping and testing solutions has been a fundamental part of the project. Overall, it has been the employees and the expertise of Komax, its valuable input and its quality that have particularly impressed me.

Finally: what capabilities do partners and the industry in general need to take the next step towards highly automated wire harness production in collaboration with manufacturers like Audi?
Given the global pressures, I would particularly like to see an understanding of capital budgeting in relation to automated production. If manufacturers receive an order from us today, it is implemented, delivered and they receive their money immediately. A reality based on full automation would mean that Tier 1 manufacturers would have to invest at a much earlier stage and not receive their money until later. The return on investment is therefore delayed. If there is no understanding of capital budgeting, we will find it difficult to achieve our goals. The project highlights that economic discussions must be held with regard to plant investment.

In addition, the added value of the data obtained - of all the baggage that comes with a component – must be recognized. I mean the data generated during production or assembly of a component, such as the position of the connector, which applies from start to finish. If the connector on the wire harness falls by the wayside after production, the data is automatically lost. The data – in this example the connector position – is not retained and must be worked out again later. The value of information and its dissemination along the entire value chain should not be underestimated.

We also need partners who see automation as a competitive advantage and not as just another requirement of the OEM. We don’t simply want to confront manufacturers with specifications, we want to work together: we cannot develop a wire harness without a wire harness manufacturer to build it. We don’t want to push anyone in a particular direction. We hope everyone can see that automation is an advantage.