The digital revolution is rewriting the rulebook for automakers and their suppliers. The pace of vehicle development is growing steadily closer to that seen in the consumer electronics industry, putting pressure on traditional ways of designing and producing products. The key differentiator in this new paradigm is data, and those that can harness and deploy it effectively could find themselves with a significant competitive advantage. At the moment, China is leading the pack.
“Chinese players have established agile and flexible operations over the past few years, and Western OEMs are lagging,” says Ignazio Dentici, Vice President of Global Automotive & eMobility Industry at Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division. He advises that the latter would do well to copy the Chinese template if they want to retain their relevance and protect their market share. To do that, they need to focus on leveraging big data, improving project collaboration, and implementing automation.
