Lights out: The automotive industry’s uneasy march toward dark factories

The race toward lights-out manufacturing may prove as socially disruptive as it is technologically inevitable.

Across parts of mainland China’s automotive sector, factories designed to operate without human presence are no longer experimental showcases. So-called “dark factories” — highly automated plants that rely on robotics, AI and dense sensor networks — are already producing electric vehicles at an industrial scale, operating continuously without lighting, heating or on-site labor.