Innovation critical to long term survival say auto industry CEOs
By Design Engineering staff
General Automotive Innovation transporationSurvey by PricewaterhouseCoopers suggests that global economic downturn has forced automakers to re-evaluate their business models.
The trend towards flexiblemanufacturing will translate into fewer jobs on the assembly line andnot surprisingly, 39% of respondents expect to reduce the number ofemployees in the next 12 months.
Thesurvey results show that 73% of automotive CEOs agree that a new globalclimate deal is important or critical, and 70% feel clearercommunication about the threats and scope of climate change isrequired. Automotive companies have initiated sustainability studiesand policies to better understand climate change issues and greenhousegas impacts on the environment. As a result, companies are findinginnovative approaches to vehicle design, safety, andadvanced-technologies to lessen their carbon footprint. They are takingbig steps to help sustain the environment for future generations.
Theautomotive industry will help play a role in addressing the businessimplications of climate change by finding solutions to reduce theirimpacts on the environment.
“Automakersneed to ‘right-size’ and re-evaluate their business models to succeedlong-term. The good news is that people will still buy cars around theworld. Automakers will have to consider how they go to market in thefuture to meet consumer demand,” says Walters.
www.pwc.com/ceosurvey
