Technological and Industrial Challenges in the Automotive Industry Today
Cosimo De Carlo joined Altran as a Consultant in 2001, after acquiring 2 years experience as a research & development engineer at Daimler, in Germany.
As an Altran consultant, he was involved in several aerospace and automotive projects in Italy and Germany and worked with SCAN (Senior Consultant Altran network) to consolidate Altran’s automotive offering in France, Sweden and Germany.
In July 2005, Cosimo De Carlo became a Business Manager at Altran Germany where he undertook a major acquisition for the group in the automotive sector, which boosted the Group’s share of regional automotive markets.
He also opened a new office in the US for a strategic cooperation project set up by Altran and one of its main automotive customers in Germany.
In 2008, he was appointed to the Management Board of BERATA, a former Altran subsidiary, and following the merger of the Group in Germany in 2009, became was put in charge of the ‘’automotive operation board’’.
Since July 2010, he has been in charge of the Altran’s German automotive division.
In your opinion, what are the main challenges facing the automotive industry at present?
The automotive industry is undergoing a major transformation as a result of two key factors:
Firstly, we are having to face new trends in mobility demand: the new awareness of climate-change has triggered an irreversible change in drivers’ behaviour patterns, which is prompting car buyers to switch into new vehicle segments. The shift towards electric vehicles is forcing automotive players to redesign their value chains and acquire the necessary core skills.
Secondly, the concept of car ownership is changing. For younger generations in some countries, the car as a status symbol is losing ground to high-tech multimedia appliances. This is pushing car manufacturers to explore innovative business models in order to generate new profit sources, such as telematic applications, on-demand media and connectivity services for vehicles.
These new business models will have an enormous impact on the target positioning of carmakers. The focus on mobility services, as well as automotive products, will make for an increase in cooperation and joint venture agreements, not only in the car sector, but also outside the “traditional” automotive industry.
What strategies have European manufacturers adopted at the local level to address strong potential growth markets (Brazil, China, India, etc.)?
Growth in emerging markets is one of the top priorities of European carmakers today.
Until now, the focus of the European automotive industry in the BRIC countries was on low end products to satisfy the car-owning aspirations of the emerging middle classes in these regions, and on premium products, to fulfil the aspirations of the new upper classes for luxury goods and products made in Europe, which they regard as status symbols .
Today, this trend is changing and spreading beyond these product segments. In addition, the shift in consumer demand and the increase in “green” awareness in these emerging markets will be more rapid than in Europe, thanks to new developments at the political level. The switchover to electric vehicles is gaining momentum in China even faster than Europe and, because of globalisation, demand in BRIC countries will soon be in line with European levels.
This means that European carmakers will have to develop global modules so that a component for one market can be easily adapted, at low cost, for another market, according to different local requirements. Another very important aspect is choosing the appropriate location for value-chain activities, not only for suppliers and production plants, but also with regard to the transfer of R&D activities to the BRIC countries. This will be necessary to satisfy local product demand and increase profitability. For all global players, therefore, success will depend on the quality of the local-development partner and the ability to transfer know how rapidly.
How can Altran’s innovative solutions help players in the automotive industry address their challenges at the business-expertise and organisational/delivery model level?
Altran can play a fundamental role as an innovation partner in the automotive industry. First of all, the group is innovative-solutions leader in several technological sectors. A successful partnership between automotive and not automotive partners requires an in-depth knowledge in technology and in development processes of the industries in question. Because Altran works on a cross-sector basis, it can guarantee efficient technological and business-model integration by implementing the best practices applied to the different technologies and industries.
Another important point is Altran’s global presence and its focus on the international transfer of best practices within a particular industry, according to local skills and culture. For many years, Altran has been successfully developing international turnkey projects, which underscores the Group’s ability to exploit the necessary synergies between different markets.
These features make Altran the right partner for R&D localisation of client activities and for the turnkey development of “world cars”. Only a global player is able to do this.
Every day we hear or read something in the news about the electric car. Do you think it is a viable solution for the future and how is Altran addressing this issue?
The electric car is only one of the sustainable mobility solutions in the short-to-medium term.
Expanding megacities, new social trends, greater restrictions in terms of traffic volumes and CO²-emissions require new innovative mobility concepts. The electric car can help fulfil these needs, at least in big cities. The current debate surrounding the electric car is very lively given the enormous impact of this type of vehicle on the core businesses of carmakers as well as the profit (and loss) centres in the value chain.
In any case, we have reached a “point of no return”. The debate over “how many e-cars will be on the roads by 2015 or 2020?” is complex, as are the different statistics. The answer will depend on many technological and political factors. However, the e-car trend is irreversible; the electric car will soon be a series-manufactured vehicle and not just an exhibition car made for automobile shows.
Altran is playing an increasingly important role in this technology and strengthening its positioning by developing partnerships with a number of OEMs and Tier 1 and 2 suppliers at the international level.
Why? Altran was one of the first players to forge partnerships related to the development of Micro, Mild and Full-hybrid vehicles. For more than 6 years, the Group has been working specifically to optimise the energy management of these vehicles and help its clients find innovative solutions to reduce fuel consumption and optimise energy flows.
In addition, Altran’s long-term involvement in the automotive, as well as the energy and telecom sectors, makes it the best development partner to integrate the new business models of the different players in the electric mobility segment.
