A 22-year-old has died after being grabbed and pushed up against a metal plate by a robot in a Volkswagen factory in Germany.

The Press Association in Germany report that Heiko Hillwig, a spokesperson for the company, confirmed that the man died on Monday at the plant in Baunatal which is located near Frankfurt.

He revealed that the deceased was working as part of a team that was setting up the stationary robot before the incident happened.

Hillwig said that the initial conclusions made said that the incident occurred due to human error and not technical fault with the robot.

There was another contractor present when the incident occurred but was unharmed. Hillwig declined to give any more details about the case, citing an ongoing investigation.