Top 10: Automotive Companies Using AI
What began as mechanical engineering has evolved into a battle for software supremacy, with AI becoming a defining technology in the automotive industry.
Today, traditional manufacturers face pressure from tech-savvy upstarts whilst simultaneously grappling with the complexity of integrating AI across disparate business functions.
AI now permeates supply chain management, where algorithms predict component failures before they occur. It personalises in-car experiences, learning individual driver preferences and adapting vehicle behaviour accordingly. In manufacturing, AI-powered robots work alongside human workers, whilst machine learning (ML) systems optimise everything from paint application to energy consumption.
Some manufacturers pursue vertical integration, developing proprietary chips and training their own neural networks. Others favour partnerships with established tech giants, trading control for reduced development risk. Meanwhile, traditional automotive hierarchies face disruption as software engineers command influence once reserved for mechanical specialists.
The companies featured below represent this move towards AI in the market, each pursuing distinct approaches to AI integration whilst navigating the challenges of legacy infrastructure, regulatory uncertainty and consumer acceptance.
10. Honda
How AI is used: Researches automated vehicles, develops robotics and streamlines internal knowledge transfer
CEO: Toshihiro Mibe
Headquarters: Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Honda’s Research Institute focuses on automated vehicles, ML, computer vision and robotics research.
The company collaborates with IBM watsonx.ai to deploy Gen AI for internal knowledge transfer to extract data from PowerPoint documents and reducing documentation modelling time from years to months.
CEO Toshihiro Mibe leads electrification efforts and partnerships with General Motors and Cruise for shared autonomous vehicles.
Eventually, Honda aims to develop automobiles as “living companions” that understand human emotional and physical needs through interactive decision-making and experiential mapping technologies.
9. Stellantis
How AI is used: Enhances in-car experience, optimises EV route planning and supports fleet management
CEO: Antonio Filosa
Headquarters: Hoofddorp, Netherlands
Stellantis operates an “AI on the Road” strategy through its STLA SmartCockpit, powered by STLA Brain digital backbone.
The system utilises multi-modal interfaces including voice, touch and gesture controls for navigation and entertainment integration.
STLA AutoDrive supports Level 2 to Level 3 assisted driving capabilities and AI personalises in-car settings, learns driver preferences and optimises energy consumption.
The company also deploys predictive maintenance and AI-powered EV route planning that considers vehicle range, traffic patterns and charger availability.
Additionally, ChatGPT-powered voice assistants and Mistral AI enhance the in-car assistance functions.
8. Ford
How AI is used: Develops automated driving, optimises production and enhances customer service
CEO: Jim Farley
Headquarters: Dearborn, Michigan, US
By collaborating with Relex Solutions in South America for supply chain optimisation, Ford reduces manual workload and improves forecasting accuracy through AI-powered systems.
The company’s subsidiary Latitude AI, founded in 2023, develops Level 2+ and Level 3 Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems.
It integrates AI into production processes to identify quality issues and reduce inefficiencies. – and its AI tools support dealer operations, improving efficiency and customer targeting practices.
CEO Jim Farley has stated that AI will replace “literally half of all white-collar workers” in the US.
7. Hyundai Motor Group
How AI is used: Powers advanced infotainment, develops autonomous driving and integrates robotics
CEO: Chung Eui-sun
Headquarters: Seoul, South Korea
Hyundai’s Software-Defined Vehicle R&D division drives AI integration across infotainment systems and autonomous driving.
The PLEOS Connect infotainment system utilises Gleo AI for conversational commands and real-time queries.
Level 2+ autonomous driving employs AI deep learning decision structures, while Level 4 robotaxis are being developed through the Motional joint venture.
The company produces AI-based robotics including wearable exoskeletons (CEX, VEX), customer service robots (DAL-e) and mobile platforms (MobED).
Hyundai plans to integrate PLEOS Connect into over 20 million vehicles by 2030.
6. Mercedes-Benz
How AI is used: Powers advanced infotainment, enables conditionally automated driving and optimises manufacturing
CEO: Ola Källenius
Headquarters: Stuttgart, Germany
Mercedes-Benz integrates AI into its MBUX infotainment system, featuring ChatGPT for conversational AI, personalised recommendations and contextual memory.
DRIVE PILOT is the first SAE-Level 3 conditionally automated driving system approved for US roads.
While manufacturing operations utilise the MO360 production system with AI features including a Digital Factory Chatbot Ecosystem and MO360LLM Suite, the company deploys humanoid robots from Apptronik for repetitive tasks and intralogistics.
Over three million vehicles currently utilise AI features, with proprietary operating system MB.OS enabling continuous updates.
5. Volkswagen Group
How AI is used: Develops in-car infotainment, optimises vehicle functions and fosters AI innovation
CEO: Oliver Blume
Headquarters: Wolfsburg, Germany
By 2035, Volkswagen aims to become “The Global Automotive Tech Driver.”
Working towards this goal, Volkswagen established an AI Lab as a networked competence centre and incubator to identify AI product ideas and streamline collaboration with technology companies.
AI applications include enhanced infotainment and navigation, speech recognition with ChatGPT integration, AI-optimised charging cycles for electric vehicles, predictive maintenance and smart home integration.
The company utilises AI-powered collaborative robots for manufacturing processes.
CEO Oliver Blume emphasises delivering value through AI by linking external digital ecosystems with vehicles.
4. GM
How AI is used: Powers autonomous driving, enhances in-car experience and optimises manufacturing
CEO: Mary Barra
Headquarters: Detroit, Michigan, US
GM re-engineers its business model around AI, evolving into a software-driven platform company.
Super Cruise provides hands-free driving capabilities using computer vision, ML and sensor data – and Cruise subsidiary develops autonomous robotaxis leveraging large AI models and Gen AI for the SuperDrive virtual driver system.
CEO Mary Barra champions AI integration across all operations, exploring ChatGPT for in-vehicle assistants and utilising the Ultifi platform for over-the-air updates.
GM has also partnered with Nvidia for foundational compute hardware and simulation through digital twins for factories.
3. Toyota
How AI is used: Enhances safety, personalises in-car experience and optimises manufacturing processes
CEO: Koji Sato
Headquarters: Toyota City, Japan
By developing systems including “Yui” that adapts to driver emotions and the “Toyota Guardian” platform for accident avoidance, Toyota Research Institute conducts research in AI, robotics and vehicular automation.
The company’s AI applications extend to manufacturing through Toyota New Global Architecture for smart production.
CEO Koji Sato emphasises foundations for “Toyota-style software-defined vehicles” and next-generation battery electric vehicle technologies.
The company also explores mobility solutions for aging society challenges and climate change, using AI to discover new materials.
Toyota positions AI as a strategic means to address societal and environmental imperatives.
2. BMW
How AI is used: Enhances in-car experience, optimises production logistics and powers autonomous driving
CEO: Oliver Zipse
Headquarters: Munich, Germany
BMW integrates AI across its technological ecosystem through its Intelligent Personal Assistant for voice commands and the “Yui” system that adapts to driver emotions and preferences.
AI-powered digital twins and real-time data flows optimise the supply chains, track components and predict maintenance needs.
Furthermore, the company's “greenfield” approach involves building cloud-based, AI-ready enterprise applications from scratch for predictive analytics and automated financial governance.
CEO Oliver Zipse emphasises AI deployment throughout the entire value chain – and BMW leverages AI-enhanced HD maps from HERE Technologies for Level 2+ and Level 3 autonomous driving.
1. Tesla
How AI is used: Develops full self-driving, custom AI chips, humanoid robots and optimises manufacturing
CEO: Elon Musk
Headquarters: Austin, Texas, US
CEO Elon Musk integrates xAI’s Grok chatbot into Tesla vehicles.
On a deeper level, Tesla’sAI extends to humanoid robots (Optimus) and manufacturing optimisation through AI-controlled HVAC systems and paint shops at Gigafactories, contrasting with competitors who rely on external partners.
Meanwhile, Tesla pursues vertical integration by designing FSD inference chips and Dojo training chips powering its custom Dojo supercomputer.
The FSD software also employs a “vision-only” approach, leveraging real-world driving data from millions of vehicles to train 48 neural networks for perception and control.
Eventually, the company targets Level 5 full self-driving and robotaxi fleet deployment.
