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Sample supplier report · October 9, 2026

1,000 body-in-white robots in 12 months: who to send the RFQ to

I'm building a car factory and need 1,000 robots for a BIW line in the next 12 months. Who would you recommend? Who has a strong support base in the US?The buyer’s question, as they typed it.

The answer

Send the RFQ to FANUC, KUKA and Yaskawa. FANUC leads with 29 of 32 points and top marks on all three asks: US support, body-shop record and capacity.

The shortlist

RankSupplierRoleWhereScore
1FANUCLeadRochester Hills, MI29 / 32
2KUKASecond sourceShelby Township, MI20 / 32
3YaskawaFallbackMiamisburg, OH17 / 32
4ABBWatchAuburn Hills, MI18 / 32
5KawasakiWatchWixom, MI14 / 32

Scorecard, criterion by criterion

CriterionFANUCKUKAYaskawaABBKawasaki
US support ×2Your ask86646
Body-shop record ×2Your ask88262
Capacity ×2Your ask82642
Import duty (lower is better)12131
Stability42213
Total of 322920171814

Points as weighted: the buyer’s asks count double where marked. A dash means nothing published backs a score, so it isn’t counted as zero.

The suppliers

FANUC America (FANUC Corporation, Japan)

Lead · Rochester Hills, MI

Widest US support, named US body-shop references and the largest published capacity. But its spot welders are Japan-built (12.5% duty), FANUC weighed a tariff surcharge, and its new Michigan plant is due late 2027, after this order. Get allocation and a capped landed price in writing.

KUKA Robotics and KUKA Systems North America (Germany)

Second source · Shelby Township, MI

The only one of the five with its own US body shop (Toledo, 285 robots). EU origin means 10% duty. But China's Midea has owned it outright since 2022, and its Augsburg home base is cutting 509 jobs. Clear ownership with your program first.

Yaskawa America, Motoman Robotics (Japan)

Fallback · Miamisburg, OH

The second-largest published capacity, with a new factory meant to add half again, and well-documented US service. Body-in-white is the gap: one named reference, Honda Swindon, UK, 2003. Robot profit fell 43.3% in the latest half.

ABB Robotics (Switzerland; being sold to SoftBank)

Watch · Auburn Hills, MI

Robots built in Michigan since 2015 could avoid duty, but ABB has not said which spot-welding models. Its sale to SoftBank should close in the second half of 2026.

Kawasaki Robotics USA (Japan)

Watch · Wixom, MI

Builds in Japan and stocks robots at Wixom, Michigan. Its car-robot business is small (¥36.8bn), and delivery dates are estimates.

Key findings

Settle these before you send the RFQ

  1. Q1Price per robot with controller, gun and dress pack; landed cost at today's duty.
  2. Q2Delivery lead time for an order this size.
  3. Q3Your HTS classification for robot, controller and gun.
  4. Q4How many spot welders will you allocate us each month, and from which plant? (FANUC)
  5. Q6Will you add a tariff surcharge, and cap it by contract? (FANUC)
  6. Q11Does Midea's ownership restrict supply to our program or customers? Document it. (KUKA)
  7. Q14Which US body shops run Motoman spot welders, and how many? (Yaskawa)
  8. Q17Which IRB 67xx spot welders does Auburn Hills build, and how many a year? (ABB)
  9. Q21Will you commit to delivery dates with penalties? (Kawasaki)

How the research was done

120 research agents · 873 pages read · 35 found → 9 fit the brief → 5 ranked. Every score in the full report links to the page it came from, and the open questions are written out for the RFQ.

Sources

Read the full report (PDF)

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