European e-mobility shaping the future for global auto suppliers, strategy expert warns

Speaking at this week's Frankfurt IAA International Motor Show, US strategy consultant Paul Eichenberg advised automotive suppliers seeking to protect or grow their business as automobile electrification rapidly emerges in Europe to ‘build the future now’. Eichenberg said that Europe is leading the automotive electrification charge globally. German automakers are already developing the electric technologies that will help them meet the next regulatory hurdle for emissions – the proposed Euro VII rules –
September 8, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Speaking at this week's Frankfurt IAA International Motor Show, US strategy consultant Paul Eichenberg advised automotive suppliers seeking to protect or grow their business as automobile electrification rapidly emerges in Europe to ‘build the future now’.


Eichenberg said that Europe is leading the automotive electrification charge globally. German automakers are already developing the electric technologies that will help them meet the next regulatory hurdle for emissions – the proposed Euro VII rules – which are expected to come between 2025 and 2030.

Over the decade of 2020 to 2030, which Eichenberg calls the ‘decade of electrification’, the European market will define the future of automotive powertrain architecture.

He claims that, as e-mobility progresses, automakers will turn to a new group of suppliers to be the system integrators for the electrified powertrain – companies with both electrical expertise and the scale of consumer products manufacturing, such as 954 LG, 5392 Toshiba, 311 Bosch and 598 Panasonic. He said other suppliers who want to participate in this mega trend need to start aligning now with those giants, before they are shut out of the game.

E-mobility will cause more disruption to the automotive supply chain than it has ever faced, Eichenberg said. To succeed amidst this disruption, auto suppliers – especially those with engine, transmission and exhaust components in their portfolios – will need seven or eight years to transform their companies to be able to compete in the new ecosystem.

Eichenberg estimates that as many as three-quarters of the world's top 100 automotive suppliers will be affected by the global industry move toward electrification.

In his white paper, titled: "Electrification Disruption: How not to get shocked, jolted and fried by the coming shift in automotive power sources," Eichenberg says that unless they rethink their approach and secure electronics and software competencies, few traditional auto suppliers will be able to succeed in the electrified auto future.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Making connections without compromising security
    November 10, 2017
    We listen in as global experts discuss connected vehicles and cybersecurity. By 2019 there will be almost 44 million connected cars globally and by 2022 that figure will be nearer 70 million; some 40% will be electric powered, according to market analyst Frost & Sullivan. But its report said the issue of end-to-end security for the new technology is still under debate, as vehicle OEMs engage with vendors to test specific security application areas for both over-the-air and vehicle-to-exterior services.
    Read More
  • Aptiv: we need overhaul of AV nervous system
    August 20, 2019
    Autonomous vehicles are changing a lot of things: Aptiv’s Christian Schäfer suggests that we need to look again at traditional approaches to vehicle architecture to find viable options for the future
    Read More
  • ITSA Detroit 2018: a must-attend transportation event!
    May 24, 2018
    The 2018 ITS America Annual Meeting Detroit, from 4-7 June, is the must-attend transportation technology event in North America this year. The theme of the meeting, “Transportation 2.0,” will be weaved throughout the three days of plenary sessions, demonstrations, and exhibits. Discussions will centre around the future of transportation, intelligent mobility, and managing risk. “Changes happening today will fundamentally affect how people interact with transportation in the months and years ahead,” said Sh
    Read More
  • Cooperative road infrastructures - progress and the future
    February 1, 2012
    Robert Bertini, deputy administrator of the USDOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration, discusses the research and deployment paths of cooperative road infrastructures. High-level analysis by the US's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the potential of Vehicle-to-Infrastructure/Infrastructure-to-Vehicle (V2I/I2V) and Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) technologies indicates that V2V could in exclusivity address a large proportion of crashes involving unimpaired drivers. In fact,
    Read More

Highlighted Content