Monday Afternoon Session, August 1, 1:30 –4:30 p.m.

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Many auto companies are targeting low-volume vehicles as a means to increasing market share, and in some cases, establishing a “halo effect” with niche products. Some automotive OEMs have developed relationships with external suppliers to provide engineering and production capacities, while others have focused on delivering low-volume vehicles by developing internal flexibility. Such internal flexibility can be achieved through flexible manufacturing technologies and product design flexibility (e.g., strategic use of carry-over parts and parametrically designed components). Several companies have adopted both approaches by developing strategic external partnerships while increasing their own internal flexibility. This workshop will investigate critical constraints of low-volume vehicles, including engineering and production resource availability, and manufacturing cost. We will also highlight the strengths, weaknesses, and possible concerns with the various strategies and technologies for low-volume vehicle production.

We will also disseminate preliminary results from a multi-company research effort led by CAR—identifying, investigating and assessing different low-volume strategies and technologies for body-in-white fabrication and assembly that are currently in production, or planned for future deployment.

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Confirmed Speakers

Speaker Presentations are underlined.

Mark Reuss, Executive Director, Vechicle Architecture and GM Performance Division, General Motors Design

Jerry A. Mosingo, Chief Operating Officer, ASC Incorporated

Richard A. Marando, Director of Advanced Engineering, Structural Solutions Group, Dana Corporation

John J. Basso, President, Diversified Tooling Corporation

Asutosh Padhi, Partner, McKinsey & Company

John Waraniak, Strategic Director, Automotive Centre of Excellence, TATA Consultancy Services

Co-Chairs:

Jay Baron, Ph.D., President & CEO and Director; and Brett Smith, Assistant Director, Manufacturing, Engineering and Technology, Center for Automotive Research