Education and Training | Center for Automotive Research

Partner Whitepaper: Automotive Digital Transformation in Uncertain Times

Carolyn Mozheev — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 16:36:15 +0000

Partner Whitepaper: Automotive Digital Transformation in Uncertain Times

The automotive industry is experiencing a profound CASE (Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electrified) driven transformation, leading to changes in virtually every aspect of the business. In addition to this CASE-related disruption, several macro factors add to the overall uncertainty, requiring a rethinking of traditional strategies to survive and thrive during this transition.

Developing an agile, resilient organization with a focus on people, processes, and technology is key to addressing uncertainty and mitigating risk. From a people perspective, as the industry becomes more technology-centric, the demand—and competition—for digital talent will only intensify. OEMs and suppliers must become employers of choice, competing with Silicon Valley for the cream of the hi-tech talent pool.

From a process perspective, winning companies must develop the ability to anticipate and respond to an increasingly complex and disrupted ‘normal’ and, more so than ever, place the customer experience at the center of their strategies, look beyond their four walls for operational excellence, and respond to opportunities with laser-like precision and speed.

Finally, organizations must implement an information technology architecture centered on a data-driven, cloud-based digital operating platform capable of providing scalability, agility, resilience, and actionable insights to achieve competitive advantage.

It may be cliché to say that the auto industry stands at a historic crossroads—but this reality also brings an unparalleled opportunity for exponential growth while building a foundation for the next 100 years.

Contribution of the Automotive Industry to the Economies of All Fifty States and the United States

boxcar-admin — Thu, 01 Jan 2015 05:00:00 +0000

Six years after the worst recession since the 1930s, the American economy is demonstrating many signs of strengthening, and the auto industry is helping drive that recovery. Despite recent economic hardships, auto manufacturers, suppliers, and dealers employ over 1.5 million people and directly contribute to the creation of another 5.7 million jobs. In total, the auto industry supports 7.25 million private sector jobs, almost $500 billion in annual compensation, and nearly $65 billion in personal tax revenues. In this paper, the authors touch on the many factors that support the auto industry’s importance and standing in the national economy, along with an estimate of the industry’s employment and economic contribution to the national economy and to each of the 50 states.

Repurposing Former Automotive Manufacturing Sites in the Midwest

boxcar-admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 04:00:00 +0000

The Midwest, as the traditional core of the U.S. automotive industry, has seen many auto plant closures over the years. The number of shuttered facilities in this region, specifically Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, vastly outpaces those in other parts of the country. Simultaneously, the economy has been disproportionately impacted by the recession. Therefore, as a follow-on to the national CAR study, Repurposing Former Auto Manufacturing Facilities, and sponsored by the C.S. Mott Foundation, CAR researchers conducted a more focused look at the obstacles and catalysts for successfully repurposing former auto sites in the Midwest. This report highlights four case studies of successful plant redevelopments, and identifies relevant lessons learned to assist other Midwestern communities in their endeavors to transition properties.

Driving Workforce Change: Regional Impact and Implications of Auto Industry Transformation to a Green Economy

boxcar-admin — Sun, 01 May 2011 04:00:00 +0000

Before the Great Recession, the auto industry in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio was in the throes of restructuring—applying new technologies and production efficiencies, reducing costs, and modifying product lines to equal or beat global competitors—accompanied by an extended period of downsizing. Overlaying the recession on the restructuring compounded the challenges the industry was already facing.

This report is a reality check, accepting that the regional economy is at a fundamentally different place and cannot return from where it came. However, as the auto sector works toward its revival, there are workforce issues to be addressed, particularly in the context of the growing evolution and demands of a green economy.