Inside China's 'dark factories' which create 800 EVs every day and leave Detroit shaking

China’s futuristic ‘dark factories’ are rapidly redefining how Zeekr EVs are made, and legacy automakers in Detroit are paying close attention.

The term sounds ominous, but it simply refers to factories that are so automated they can operate without lights.

Leading this charge is Zeekr, a premium EV brand launched by Chinese automotive giant Geely in 2021.

In just a few years, Zeekr has achieved production levels that took Tesla nearly a decade to reach.

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China’s dark factories are scarily efficient

At Zeekr’s flagship plant in Ningbo, China, more than 800 robots work in perfect synchronization across the factory floor, welding, assembling, and prepping vehicles around the clock.

Human workers are, of course, still needed for wiring and robot maintenance. But most of the dark factory operates independently, creating an average of 800 electric cars per day.

This allows the autonomous factory to produce roughly 300,000 EVs a year.

This level of automation is part of China’s broader push to dominate the global EV sector by producing more electric vehicles than any other country.

Since 2015, China’s industrial robot usage has grown sevenfold.

According to Zeekr vice president Zhao Chunlin, the company is aiming for near-total lights-out production And each new model pushing the boundaries of robotic capability

But how beneficial can using robots be?

Well, a Chinese company recently unveiled a humanoid robot worker who can run 275 trillion operations per second. That’s slightly faster than the average human employee.

Chinese EVs pose a huge threat to US carmakers

The results aren’t just fast, either, as automation is both high quality and low cost at the same time.

Ford CEO Jim Farley recently admitted that the cost and craftsmanship of Chinese EVs are now surpassing Western offerings. And that poses a direct threat to traditional automakers.

In a market where speed, price, and innovation rule, Zeekr and its peers are setting new global benchmarks

Detroit’s automakers, which were once global leaders, are struggling to catch up.

US giants like Ford, GM, and Stellantis face shrinking EV market share, rising costs, and outdated factory models.

Meanwhile, China’s EV ecosystem includes over 600,000 companies, from battery makers to AI software providers, all integrated into a powerful, fast-moving supply chain.

With its dark factories, Zeekr is a symbol of China’s manufacturing future.

And unless Detroit radically transforms its approach, the real darkness may soon fall over the US auto industry itself, and Chinese cars may come to the US market sooner rather than later.

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