Analysis of the German automotive sector by Lars Traue, our Head of Sales for the DACH Region
1) What are the biggest challenges that the German automotive industry is facing?
Car industry in Germany is lagging behind when it comes to adapting to the use of alternative energies, which is the main challenge for the years to come.
According to a recent study made by the international contracting consultancy, Korn Ferry, people who are adapting faster to changes in they own markets are the pharmaceutical, technological and commercial managers. Perhaps, managers from German car brands are significantly slow in meeting the new challenges posed by the automotive industry, especially with regard to the vehicle fleet electrification.
Car industry has changed surprisingly fast over the last few years. Serious problems such as air pollution (provoked by gases and particles emitted by vehicles with combustion engines) have led people to think about changing their way to move from one place to another.
Car manufacturers possess the key to meet the new mobility demand, and the time they will take in adapting to this demand will determine their companies’ success.
It is precisely in this speed of adaptation that German manufacturers have problems. In a really short time, they have been surpassed by Asian brands (such as the KIA-Hyundai group) or by some from the old continent (a good example is the alliance made by Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi) in vehicles’ electrification and hybridization.
In conclusion, German car industry seems to have got the message, but compared with all the industries that have been consulted, it is actually in the penultimate place.
2) What level of competitiveness you think the German automotive sector has? Why?
In order to be able to answer this question, it must be clear that competitiveness depends on consumer confidence in this industry, which perhaps has continuously declined compared in the last years. This is demonstrated by a representative survey carried out by the German Energy Agency (Dena). The 54% of people who participated in the survey believe that German car manufacturers are not well positioned to compete for the mobility of the future (in 2017, it was the 48%). Three quarters of them think that manufacturers are not doing enough to bring low-consumption and low-emission vehicles onto the market.
The 60% of Germans would now opt for a car with an alternative driving system, if the purchase price was the same as that of a car with a classic combustion engine. That’s 10% more than a year ago. If we look at the age of the respondents, we see that the 70% who would opt for the news alternative is under 50.
Battery-powered cars are the most popular ones. Nearly one in four would opt for it. The 72% of those surveyed believe that alternative systems will dominate the market by 2030.
In conclusion, if the industry is not properly prepared for this change, it will face great problems when trying to be a competitive market, especially if countries like Japan and Korea are already dominating these new challenges.
And now, some questions about you:
3) Which innovation in the automobile industry would you have liked to invent?
The water engine, which obtains its energy indirectly from water through an electrolysis process.
4) Which innovative character in the automobile industry would you have liked to know?
Elon Musk. By creating the Tesla Roadster, he has made the serial production of electric cars reality in the modern era.
5) Describe the Lever Touch environment with an adjective and explain why.
Human. Each person matters!
6) What do you expect from Lever Touch?
I hope it will be much more than just one stage of my life!
7) In which way do you think Lever Touch can contribute to the automotive sector future?
Well, I think Lever Touch can make the automotive future better and easier, by providing innovative solutions mixed with high technology, quality and…a great team!