Original Article, M. Robinet, May 3, 2021
Suppliers face critical decisions on a daily basis. Crises come and go. Dealing with erratic production schedules driven by semiconductor supply shortages and coping with rising prices for strategic materials such as steel and resin underscore the cyclical challenges of the auto business. By comparison, other hurdles such as hiring and retaining the right talent are just frosting on the cake.
Then comes battery-electric vehicle (BEV) propulsion and the significant investments and, in some cases upheaval, it demands. For suppliers, the changes that will impact most functional vehicle systems due to the EV trend outline four strategic paths – forks in the road – to follow:
