The rise of robotics is transforming the car industry, and Toyota appears to be preparing for a future in which robots become a much more familiar sight on the factory floor.

The world’s largest carmaker is reportedly considering the deployment of around 400,000 humanoid and non-humanoid robots from 2028, with annual investment potentially reaching 1 trillion yen — around $6.4 billion.

The plan is expected to involve Toyota, its group companies and major suppliers, although the company has yet to reveal exactly how many robots will be used at individual plants.

The move isn’t simply about replacing human workers. Toyota sees automation as a way of modernising its manufacturing infrastructure, tackling labour shortages and improving productivity while reducing costs.

Other manufacturers are heading in the same direction. Hyundai plans to introduce humanoid Atlas robots at its Georgia facility from 2028, where models including the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9 are produced. 

Tesla, meanwhile, continues to develop its Optimus humanoid robot, initially for factory work but potentially for consumer applications in the future.

Toyota’s own ELEY robot takes a slightly different approach. Rather than walking on two legs, it moves around on wheels and has two-fingered hands. More importantly, it is designed to learn by observing human workers and replicating the way they perform tasks.

Robots are already appearing in other car factories. BMW has deployed its AI-powered AEON humanoid robots at its Leipzig plant following successful trials in South Carolina. 

Mercedes-Benz has gone in a different direction, using dog-like robots called Aris to assist with quality control by detecting unusual sounds such as hissing, squeaking and buzzing.

Toyota operates around 60 factories worldwide, including 11 in the United States, but it has not yet disclosed which plants would receive robots first or how many would be deployed.

The scale of the potential investment suggests that robotics could become much more than a tool for building cars. For manufacturers such as Toyota, the technology could eventually become a business in its own right — while fundamentally changing what the factory of the future looks like.