Nothing embodied the freedom of the 1960s better than a sports car. Italian automaker Alfa Romeo (AR) understood this, and in 1962 introduced its first four-door compact executive car: the Guilia.

When one thinks of Italy, several things immediately come to mind. There’s wine and pasta, world-class soccer and gondoliers singing in Venice. Another thing that symbolizes Italy is Maserati, the manufacturer of technologically advanced sports cars.

TRAVERSE CITY, MI—Robotic laser welding will play a greater role in body-in-white assembly lines, as automakers increase their use of lightweight materials, according to Peter Busuttil, director of technology for KUKA Systems North America.

SPARTANBURG, SC—BMW is constructing a 527,000-square-foot body shop at its assembly plant here. The facility will include more than 650 robots.

ZURICH—ABB Ltd. has received a $52 million order to supply welding robots for Ford Motor Co.’s assembly plant in Harbin, China.

BAUNATAL, Germany—A robot accidentally killed a worker at Volkswagen’s automotive assembly plant here. The robot pressed the worker up against a metal plate, crushing his chest.

Although a global leader in mechanical and plant engineering, Dürr AG isn’t one to rest on its laurels. So in 2010 it acquired two adhesive technology companies (Rickert and Kleinmichel) to increase Dürr’s expertise in automotive body-in-white gluing technology.

SOLIHULL, UK—The humble rivet. That’s what Demos Hoursoglou, Jaguar Land Rover’s body-in-white manufacturing manager here, puts near the top of his list of worries about assembling the aluminum body of the Range Rover. The 2014 Range Rover body uses 17 types of rivets, 3,722 per vehicle. If one jams in a gun or is inserted incorrectly, production stops.

NOŠOVICE, Moravia—At Hyundai’s assembly plant here, a single, flexible robotic welding line can assemble doors for multiple models at the same time.