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By Bolaji Ojo
What’s at stake:
In a brutally honest review, a Stellantis executive details how US and European automakers can compete successfully against Chinese rivals. They must rearchitect the car, rapidly adopt innovations, change sourcing strategies, create common platforms, collaborate more with solutions providers, and prepare for lower car prices. EVs are “better vehicles,” he insists, and not just a response to climate change.
Apple Inc.’s foray into the mobile handset business nearly two decades ago dramatically changed the company’s fortune. It marked the beginning of the “software-defined phone,” and the beginning of Apple’s meteoric climb to the top of the global equity market.
Embattled Western auto manufacturers see some parallels in Apple’s experience in what is happening in the transportation sector, but they are also keenly aware that their own situation has become a struggle for survival rather than the mere start of a jump in value.
“When Steve Jos introduced the iPhone, phones became more expensive,” said Joachim Kahmann, senior vice president, purchasing for electric and electronics, at Stellantis, in a presentation at the Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) European Executive Forum, held earlier this month in Munich. “Vehicles cannot become more expensive. They must become more affordable again. That is absolutely mandatory.”