Oct 1, 2008
The automotive industry has undergone a transformational evolution over the last two decades. Compared to just 20 years ago, the industry is now building different, more complex products and using changing corporate structure to deliver more content to consumers while actually decreasing prices. The increases in efficiency necessary to accomplish these changes have come about as a result of painful structural change that has significantly increased collaboration between automakers and suppliers. The industry is therefore functioning under a different operational structure for which the business practices and corporate departments of both automakers and suppliers were not conceived. To take maximum advantage of the benefits offered by collaboration, and to advance the implementation of collaborative business practices even further in the future, automotive manufacturers and suppliers need to structure their companies in a way that will maximize collaboration while freeing employees and departments to do the tasks for which they are most appropriate.
Sep 1, 2008
The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) and the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) have engaged in a multi-phased project to create business strategy guideposts for SEMA members. The first report in the program—The Specialty Equipment Company of the Future: Guideposts for Technology Forecasting and Strategic Planning—identifies strategic challenges for SEMA and its member companies in the mid-term (3-7 years). The information presented is based on a series of interviews with thought leaders from vehicle manufacturers (VMs), original equipment (OE) parts suppliers, specialty equipment (SE) suppliers, and other auto industry stakeholders. These interviews were supported by literature reviews and other data gathering techniques.
Aug 1, 2008
This paper provides a overview of Michigan’s unique approach to moving ahead on the vision of technical and relationship integration and on building a connected vehicle system that meetsshared public and private objectives
Jun 1, 2008
Part I of the Line of Business Strategy for Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) provides an executive summary and high-level overview of the Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) VII strategy in terms of mission, vision, and customer/partner needs and goals
Jun 1, 2008
Vehicle infrastructure integration (VII) consists of applying both vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication to the tasks of improving safety, enhancing mobility and improving quality of life.
Feb 1, 2008
Michigan’s current automotive labor challenge and opportunity is the subject of this study, the first automotive labor market report produced by CAR’s Program for Automotive Labor and Education (PALE).
Oct 1, 2007
In 1957, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc. set up a small dealership in Hollywood, California. By 1975, Toyota became the bestselling import brand in the United States. In 1986, Toyota began manufacturing operations in the United States with General Motors at a joint-venture manufacturing facility in Fremont, California. In 2003, Toyota crossed the two million sales threshold for the first time and in 2006 Toyota sold over 2.5 million vehicles in the United States. The process of building motor vehicles necessitates a great many workers assembling those vehicles. In addition to the workers employed in Toyota’s U.S. assembly operations, many more people are needed to supply the goods and services that are directly or indirectly related to the operations of a motor vehicle company. This study will estimate the total number of workers related to Toyota’s U.S. motor vehicle assembly operations.
Aug 1, 2007
The gestation of a new component made by an automotive supplier typically begins with a Request For Quotation (RFQ) being issued by the supplier’s customer, the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). The supplier typically has about two weeks to submit its response.
