AFP, Shanghai :
A gigantic robotic arm capable of lifting an entire chassis at a General Motors plant in Shanghai is the US automaker’s secret weapon as it seeks to sell “Made in China” cars to America.
The yellow machine — dubbed “Fanuc” by workers after its maker — can lift a one-tonne object and is being used to transport large parts in the body shop of the Cadillac plant.
GM hopes its high-tech approach will persuade American consumers to put aside quality concerns and safety worries over Chinese-made products, and other manufacturers hope to follow in its tracks — including Chinese firms themselves — as the auto industry globalises further.
GM and its Chinese partner SAIC earlier this year opened the $1.2 billion Cadillac factory to produce luxury vehicles, including the plug-in hybrid version of its CT6 sedan, which will be sold in both China and the United States.
The US automaker has also announced plans to export to its home market a mid-size SUV, the Buick Envision, made in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong — prompting condemnation from US unions.
GM China’s president Matt Tsien said the Shanghai plant is as cutting-edge as any of its facilities in the United States.
“It has, I would say, some of the most advanced manufacturing technologies and capabilities in the auto industry today. The whole purpose of putting all the advanced technology into manufacturing is to build great cars,” he said.
