The three great trading entities of auto manufacturing – Asia, the US, and Europe – have all pursued different strategies over the last decade in their pursuit of growth. As the dust settles on this titanic effort, one result is clear: Asia is in the driving seat, the US strategy has largely failed, and if Europe is not careful, its industry could go the way of the US.
How can European car makers fight back against the success of the Asian automotive industry, including the current industry benchmark, Toyota, and the emerging and ambitious new competitors such as Hyundai and Maruti? How can we ensure that the European automotive industry follows a strategy that is successful and sustainable?
This analysis represents the ‘European Way’ – a strategic approach that plays to the strengths and specific characteristics of the European industry. It deliberately avoids imitation of the ‘Toyota Way’ and instead offers an approach that plays to the particular strengths of the region’s industry.
In this analysis, PA Consulting Group looks at:
1. The current industry environment:
- The growth strategies pursued in automotive manufacturing over the last decade
- The winners and losers
- What´s next for Europe?
2. The interrelated strategies that make up the European Way:
- Focusing on innovation: How do we deliver a breakthrough in added value to customers?
How can we re-invent the car to make existing models obsolete and create the need for a fleet
of 90 million cars?
- Fixing products and processes: How can we fix our cost bases and ‘lean-load’ production planning?
- Capturing downstream: How do we match customer expectations about value with the short-term fixation on one-time transactions? How do we begin thinking about customer spending for value and mobility instead of just ‘selling cars’?
- Getting supplier relationship management right: How do we build sourcing relationships based on a common understanding of values and trust? How can we understand our partners’
strategies and adjust different processes to various business requirements?
- Embracing co-opetition: How do we leverage the power of alliances and use cooperation and competition simultaneously to actively shape our competitive environment?
- Transcending the industry: How can we start treating the industry as more than just ‘selling cars’? How can we bridge the gap between public and private, macro and micro economy?
How can we find the answers to questions about creating greener, safer and more intelligent mobility solutions.
3. What this strategy could mean for European car manufacturers.
