Global viewpoints: Europe embraces the AT-factor
In little more than a couple of decades, the meaning and depth of modern technology applied throughout the global automotive industry has advanced by what once might have been regarded as science fiction proportions. It has permeated every aspect and every element of the creation and application of the automobile, and yet is still in its infancy.
In Europe and across the world, the AT-factor is even affecting the way customers choose and buy cars because the general public now has its own, individual AT-factor: the Internet. For the automotive industry, the burgeoning potential of technology in its fullest sense generates a gamut of emotions, ranging from excitement to concern. Its possibilities seem almost infinite in terms of reducing design lead-time, improving manufacturing processes, and enormously enhancing the services on which a driver and passengers can rely in terms of communication, information, safety, and efficiency.
Technology in cars and in the industry that creates them looks certain to become more complex. But that complexity will have to be kept under control. It will have to provide a cost-benefit ratio to keep the customers happy, and it will have to be applied sensibly; introducing new technology for technology's sake is a potential danger of which the global automotive industry is fully aware.
But can advanced technology get out of control? And do consumers really need so much of it when the basic purpose of a vehicle is to move people from A to B safely, at an acceptable cost, and in a convenient period of time? To find out more about the hopes and concerns that advanced technology engenders in the automotive industry, 12 senior company executives responsible for engineering, research, development, and product philosophy give their wide-ranging views on the following pages.
They were asked whether technology must become ever more complex or whether it could be "simplified" to achieve desired results. They were asked if it was important for their company to be a technology leader. They were asked about cost pressures, business alliances, alternative fuels, alternative materials, modularization, e-commerce, the effect of the Internet, about any beneficial cross-linking of motorsports to production cars, whether safety technology is peaking—and about their own particular worries regarding the automotive industry's future.
Although, as would be expected, opinions varied, there were common observations and predictions that indicated a broad agreement about various aspects of technology and its direction. There was also a clear concern about the need for more high-caliber engineers and specialists having the right mix of qualifications to provide the balanced expertise that will be essential to automotive companies in an ever more technological industry that must meet the expectations of highly demanding customers. Those customers are fully aware of what they should be getting in terms of quality, reliability, safety, and driver support systems, including telematics and infotainment.
The AT-factor is set to become ever stronger. And this is only the beginning.
