Pace of change discussed at day two of the Financial Times’ Future of the Car summit

The need for agility due to rapid developments in technology and consumer expectations has been a focus at day two of the FT’s Future of the Car summit.

Here’s a round-up of some key discussions:

Keynote: Nissan

The FT’s Peter Campbell spoke to Nissan President and CEO, Makoto Uchida, to kick things off. The talk focused on the company’s ambitious EV strategy.

Uchida explained they had started to work on electric cars for the mass market 12 years previously, and that their focus was on providing choice and value for the customer. He said, ‘As a company we have a responsibility to meet climate challenges, but there is also choice by the customer [to consider].’

Nissan works across many markets, and while every market is evolving differently from five years ago, acceptance of EVs varies. Regardless, customer needs are changing very rapidly, so Nissan are aiming to align themselves with that. In many ways, Uchida said, the transition was being led by the customer.

Speaking about their ongoing strategy, he said he hoped to maximise the offering and localise value for each respective market.

Notably, the CEO impressed that Nissan have EV and e-powertrain technology ready, and that they expected to see a 30% reduction in development and manufacturing costs by 2026. He said that technology, weight and size would all play an important role in electrification going forwards.

Noting that costs were becoming more critical for mass electric vehicles, he explained that Nissan’s philosophy will be to make the battery to provide an ‘affordable, acceptable’ cost for the customer. He said that solid-state battery (SSB) tech would be a ‘game-changer’ in this area, but it was vital that the company remained agile to stay competitive.

Dialogue: Can EV output keep pace with demand?

The evolution from ICE to EVs represents a big risk for the automotive industry, and there are still several barriers to overcome, from appropriate energy supplies to ensuring wider support is in place. With one panel member based in China, this discussion also highlighted the different stages markets are at in this transition.

Susanne Lehmann, Executive Director of Logistics at Volkswagen, said that while they had some ‘faithful clients’, it was important that traditional car makers were not complacent, especially as Chinese car makers are taking up more space in the market and developing quickly. She said there is a shift away from traditional values of combustion engines and metal to focus on software.
Commenting on the infrastructure in China, Lehmann explained that there was no range anxiety there and that loading stations were many and functioning. ‘The government support that is given here [is key],’ she said. ’The willingness of Chinese local and central government to support electricity is what makes it so comfortable.’

Lars Carlstrom, Founder and CEO at Italvolt & Statevolt, agreed that China is decades ahead of Europe. He also raised concerns that China currently has access and control of a lot of raw materials, which could be troublesome in the short-term.

Lehmann added that, following the chip crisis, Volkswagen was keen to stabilise supply chains by being more local. However, Carlstrom said he didn’t expect a functional battery supply in Europe until 2030, and that the long timelines for the process need to be respected, urging more clarity and direct action.

Scott Nash, Head of Automotive Solutions at Verizon, added that standardisation was now growing, but said there would be growing pains as the technology became established.

Panel line-up:

• Lars Calstrom, Found and CEO: Italvolt and Statevolt
• Dr Susanne Lehman, Executive Director of Logistics: Volkswagen
• Scott Nash, Head of Automotive Solutions: Verizon
• Patricia Nilsson, Frankfurt Correspondent: Financial Times

Keynote: Renault

The FT’s Peter Campbell interviewed Renualt CEO, Luca de Meo, and the conversation focused on electric vehicles, connectivity and brand sales.

De Meo began by saying EV technology is evolutionary and that had motivated the company’s decision to list their electric vehicle business separately. Through this, Renault are aiming to access additional cash to accelerate investment for growth and ensure EV experts can focus on the technology ‘from morning to evening, everyday’ so they become ‘a leader in that segment of the market’.
Speaking about different regions, the CEO noted that the combustion engine would be around for decades in many parts of the world. He said that some of Renault’s brands would switch to EV later and Dacia in particular represented an opportunity to ‘strip it down and make it more affordable’.

De Meo also talked about connectivity, and the ‘huge impact’ it could have on the automotive industry, expecting software to generate income and contribute to state-of-the-art vehicles.
From his perspective, connected vehicles offer several benefits for OEMs. He said he believed they would reduce costs long term, have a positive impact on residual value because they enabled updates, and that they allowed the product to be kept in the aftersales system for longer which would create more sales.

Overall, he said agility and innovation were very important for Renault at this time, saying: ’I want to continue to push people to strive for excellence, because that’s the only way to survive in such an industry.’