
A couple of weeks ago I talked about innovation to an Auto sector team that focuses on Electric Vehicles.
I told them, that though it is not a hype cycle, EVs neither comes as a new age innovation nor they are 100% green even on a well-to-wheel basis. But a product born out of regulatory and survival necessity for auto manufacturers. They were a bit startled by the truth.
In 1900 approximately 40% of all new road vehicles sold in the United States were powered electrically. Another 40% relied on steam propulsion and only 20% were based on fossil fuels. Only by 1905 did vehicles powered by fossil fuel reach a market share of 85%.
According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UN IPCC), “warming of the climate system is unequivocal” and “most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations.
The auto industry is the biggest customer of the steel and lithium industry, which alone will prove the truth that EVs cannot be termed green or a vehicle to meet the sustainability targets. With new forms of interaction and collaboration that are unwrapping the steel, electronics, and auto industry towards meeting sustainability goals, innovation is not a luxury anymore but a necessary tool in their survival kit.
I am glad some OEMs have understood the key roles played by Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers to bring in the much-needed technology that would bolster trust in Ev’s performance. One of the interesting trends I see is that Global Auto OEMs and Tier suppliers operating in India and Asia have started to collaborate with Academia and start-ups to increase their innovation quotient.
But the ugly truth is many innovations will not even reach the market. And not all inventions and novel ideas will be born by allocating huge budgets in R&D or engineering or design or on the shop floor
How to do it? The first step is the approach of how OEMs collaborate with tier 1 has to change. Auto OEMs and Tier suppliers have to start to relook at their current practices. In fact, automotive OEMs should pave way for new-age practices in sourcing strategies; instead of stroking a price competition among tier 1 suppliers, they should nurture and reward cross-boundary collaboration between tier 1 common platform players.
Second, though it is good Organizations of today have started spending big money and efforts to build the right workplace and culture for employees, unfortunately, those alone will also not give you consistent hard results.
Then where do we go from now? The answer lies in drawing your attention to an important stakeholder the Human Brain, and how it functions. If I tell you, that it is simple and natural, many of you will not believe me. The auto industry is overburdened with rising input costs, regulatory conformance, alternate options to commute, and most importantly loss of talented employees across the pyramid. It is high time organizations bring the application of human science-based practices to their workplace.
To reinvent your innovation and people practices by the application of human science visit www.peopleverse.in. For additional queries call us at +919840155784 to schedule time with an expert.
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