Blazing the Trail Outlook 2016

In 2013, Mazars Group conducted a study - ‘Blazing the Trail’ - focusing on the European Automotive industry. The study identified 3 top groups of countries in terms of turnover for automotive manufacturers and suppliers worldwide: Germany-France, Japan-Korea, and the USA. Through analysis of financial reports and interviews with key decision makers from the automotive industry, Mazars investigated the factors driving performance of the two top countries – France and Germany.

Comparing the two reports, some key evolutions emerge within the automotive industry, notably the following:

Suppliers’ increasing weight within the supply chain

The automotive industry has seen the role of suppliers increasing year after year. Taking the indicator of car value creation as a measure, the suppliers’ share has reached 82% compared to 78% 5 years ago.

Increasing roles of innovation

The role of innovation is becoming increasingly crucial in the automotive industry, with new technology coming from industries with much shorter development cycles. Advanced technology protects the margin of automotive suppliers and the choice of technology used will have a significant influence on the brand essence. Moreover, innovation is seen as one of the key success factors of top performance companies in the industry.

New players

The automotive industry also sees new players coming from emerging countries as well as from what was originally outside the sector. The market share of Chinese suppliers could be expected to be more significant in the future. With pollution, safety and technology as the top consumer concerns, new opportunities will come into shape and new players will also try to enter from other industries, making the sector even more competitive and more dynamic.