Technology Management Challenges in the Automotive Industry

The transformation of the automotive industry poses several challenges to the way technology is managed. Of the many challenges, three stand out: making R&D more “business like”, making suppliers more actively participate in technology development, and making engineering and R&D more global. This paper discusses these challenges and offers some thoughts on ways to address them. Four suggestions are offered: (i) Ensure that the technology strategy is aligned with product strategy and that, in turn, is aligned with the corporate and SBU strategies, (ii) Ensure that the technology processes, resources and organization are in alignment with technology strategy, (iii) Optimize the entire innovation “funnel” from idea creation to value capture, and (iv) Pay attention to the people issues, particularly those related to developing competencies required to bring about change.