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L
ong at the forefront of
innovation, the automotive
industry gave rise to the first
mass-scale assembly plants,
while lean principles with
origins in Japan lowered costs
and increased efficiency, quality
and reliability.
Today the industry has to continue to
adapt to an unstoppable force that looks set
to impact every aspect of the business. As
we move from an analog to a digital society,
digitalization presents a major challenge, yet
massive opportunity if companies get things
right.
Technology opens up opportunities for
disruption from within the industry but also
from unexpected external threats. Trends
such as the rise of mobile connectivity, data
and machine learning, 3D printing, cloud
computing, Application Program Interfaces
(APIs )and the sharing economy have broken
down traditional barriers to entry and
accelerated the speed of change. Blink and
you’ll miss it.
Names like Tesla, Uber and even Google
are at the forefront of the automotive
industry’s digital transformation. How
quickly the traditional players adapt to these
challenges will dictate what role they have to
play in the future of the car industry.
AN INDUSTRY IN TRANSITION
Industry analysts universally predict major
change by 2020. According to Frost &
Sullivan, 70% of new car sales leads are likely
to be generated digitally, while Gartner
estimate there will be a quarter of a billion
connected vehicles on the road, enabling
new in-vehicle services and automated
driving capabilities.
Such rapid digitalization requires new
skills, flexible organizations and a sustainable
approach to collaboration. The industry
needs to adapt quickly to these new
approaches, according to Professor
Paul
Jennings
from WMG (formerly the Warwick
Manufacturing Group) at the University of
Warwick.
“Electric cars, connectivity and automation
present a radical transformation of the
industry. Previously an automaker’s
research and development was focused on
mechanical engineering, but today it requires
a multidisciplinary approach involving
chemistry, electrical, telecoms, computer
science, and even psychology,” he says.
Hiring the best automotive engineering
graduates will no longer be enough.
Attracting the right mix of talent into
the industry will be a vital component to
future success. WMG runs an academy
for local 14–18 year olds who are excited
by digitalization but turned off by more
academic disciplines. Targeting this age
group is crucial to guarantee a future supply
of multidisciplinary engineers to the industry.
“The industry recognizes they need
to develop research skills and nurture
new digital talent outside the traditional
feature
As digitalization sweeps through the
automotive industry, will today’s major
brands be the leaders of tomorrow?
Driving
change with
digital
TEXT
DAVID NIKEL
PHOTO
GETTYIMAGES & VOLVO
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