With innovation in the automotive industry, having a great, workable concept that offers a substantial benefit might be the easy part. Whether an advance is instigated by a supplier or within an automaker, it almost always has a long road to adoption and implementation, if it is successful at all.
There are a number of reasons why it is difficult to introduce an automotive innovation, no matter how compelling it may be.
Inertia – The resistance of an object to any change in its state of motion. When the object in question is an OEM engineer or buyer, it takes a lot of force to overcome past history and the standard way of doing things.
Risk of error – “In God we trust; all others bring data.” That industry motto assumes the data will be viewed as trustworthy. We once asked an OEM materials engineer why a competitor was willing to switch from stamped steel to powder metal for a particular part.
“Your willingness to take risks is a factor,” he said, “as is your confidence in the reliability of your corrosion data. The long-term durability of these parts over thermal cycling is an open question because it hasn’t been on a car for 10 years yet. The information doesn’t exist.”
Material/manufacturing expense – Getting comfortable with new materials or processes. It is always a question of whether the supplier or the OEM should pay the expense of adopting new methods. In the powder metal example above, the part’s supplier spent two years and tens of thousands of dollars developing the criteria and test protocols to satisfy its customer.
Installed base – Existing know-how, machinery, and equipment that support the current approach. Ford’s new F-150 pickup truck, for example, bucks tradition in its extensive use of aluminum, which is noteworthy given how much the vehicle assembly process – not to mention the after-sale service and repair world – is tied to steel.
Consumer cost – The ability for automakers to pass some new technology costs through to buyers. If it is a comfort, convenience, or safety-related innovation, a lot of art and science go into determining how, where, and when to offer it, from a vehicle positioning and marketing standpoint.
Hope springs eternal, judging from the amount of innovation that we see suppliers promoting. Suppliers view new products, materials, technology, or processes as a source of competitive advantage that can be the ticket to higher profits.
A regulatory impetus to change comes from ever-tightening fuel economy and emissions standards. Many companies are looking for ways to improve fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the automakers are receptive – at least in theory – to every avenue. Some industry participants project an even bigger leap to self-driving cars on the road in 2025, supported by safety mandates requiring electronic vehicle-to-vehicle communications.
Creativity, persistence, and the wind of government regulations at your back are valuable elements for ushering a new idea to fruition in the automotive marketplace. Merit alone might not do it. But looking at today’s motor vehicles compared to past decades, there is no question that consumers have benefited greatly from those who have tried.
IRN Inc.
www.think-irn.com
About the author: Melissa Anderson is vice president of automotive research group IRN Inc. Anderson has consulted with automakers and suppliers extensively since 1986. She can be reached at melissa@think-irn.com.