Consulting in the automotive sector

After years of tightening emisson regulations, the European Union has decided to phase out combustion engines for passenger cars from 2035. For OEMs and suppliers, this means that the transition to carbon-neutral powertrains must happen faster than some had originally planned. Additionally, it is no longer possinle to cross-finance research and development in the near future using revenue from thesale of diesel and gasoline-powered automobiles.

Suppliers with a focus on traditional powertrains must accelerate their transition to new business areas. You can find out how this can be done here.

The EU’s requirements do not stop at emission-free propulsion: in future, cars should not only drive CO2-free, but also be produced without emissions. The automotive sector is no stranger to fast innovation cycles, intense cost pressure, and tight supply chain integration across the globe. Because of this, it appears that the automotive industry and its suppliers are more prepared than other sectors for the new challenge of  decarbonization. However, in order to create emission-free vehicles in a carbon-neutral manner and at the same time to make them profitable, large sums will need to be invested within a short period of time.

The Coronavirus pandemic and its impact on supply chains have also demonstrated that even OEMs, which – compared to other industries – have a relatively high level of supply chain transparency and established risk management processes, still need to make their supply chains more resilient. Forecasting and risk management need to be further optimized.

The transition to e-mobility has greatly increased the complexity of obtaining raw materialsDue to the circumstances in which they are mined and produced, raw materials for electric, such as nickel, cobalt, and rare earths, have been challenging to obtain in a suitable way. However, more and more consumers are now placing demands on businesses to uphold social and environmental standards across their supply chains.

In addition, many of the materials are subject to strong price fluctuations. Solutions for cost-efficient raw material procurement can be found here.

The combination of sustainability and cost-efficiency criteria poses a special challenge for the procurement of critical raw materials. Our experts support you in mastering this challenge.

The semiconductor crisis has shown with unprecedented clarity that automotive manufacturers and suppliers are not only competing for resources within the industry, but also have to face competition across industries. This is especially true for the consumer electronics sector, where a few large players with high innovation speed dominate the market. Here it is important to guarantee supply security at all times through precise forecasting and stable partnerships.