Inside NIO's AI factory, where cars build themselves

HEFEI, China — On the body assembly line of NIO’s F2 electric vehicle plant in Hefei, China, there are no people.

Only the sharp hum of machinery and the synchronized choreography of orange robotic arms fill the vast space.

German-based KUKA robots converge on an aluminum vehicle body: One lifts a door into place, a second one measures alignment through sensors, while others complete the welding process in seconds.

Human hands never touch the process.

In this 100 percent automated process, where ...