2010: According to DesRosiers - Collision Repair Magazine

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2010: According to DesRosiers

Written by Kaveh Khazra

Friday, 30 May 2008

THORNHILL, ON -- May 30, 2008 -- Recent climate change fears, rising energy costs and mile-high Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards seem to be conspiring against automakers in North America.

Those predicting the grim outlook can see the industry become shell-shocked: lower volumes, higher prices, more potential job losses, and slower and smaller cars.

“GM, Ford and Chrysler are presently going through a comprehensive three-stage response to the market share losses they have endured over the past decades…In Canada, sales show record high levels of new product and record low levels of old-platform products,” says Dennis DesRosiers of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants. And according to recent studies, the Canadian auto industry is doing just that.

GM Vice President of Research & Development Larry Burns suggested that only General Motors and Toyota possess the broad engineering backgrounds, marketing experience, supplier clout, distribution system and available capital to develop, bring to market, and re-sell/license the relevant innovations that will support our future vehicles.

DesRosiers insists that the coming decade is going to be an exciting one for those in the supply chain. He says opportunities exist for all suppliers, including companies that have not traditionally been associated with original equipment automotive parts.

Anyone in the value chain stands to benefit from technological change, but investment and innovation are crucial for supplier success and will continue to separate the good from the great.

“The winners of the 2010s will be those companies that invest in research and leverage resources in other countries. One of the fundamental themes of this period is change. As automotive technology changes, so will the mix of companies supplying that technology,” says DesRosiers.

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