A PDF file should load here. If you do not see its contents
the file may be temporarily unavailable at the journal website
or you do not have a PDF plug-in installed and enabled in your browser.
Alternatively, you can download the file locally and open with any standalone PDF reader:
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs38314-016-0065-z.pdf
Time is of the Essence
Time is of the Essence
Dear Reader
Markus Schöttle Deputy Editor in Chief
-
“We’ve used to say that you stand to
lose if you’re part of the action too early,”
sayed a Daimler manager who prefers
not to be named. “Now our view is that
you run the risk of being a mere bystander
if you wait too long.” The above quote
apparently signifies the sea change
announced recently by Daimler Head
Dr. Dieter Zetsche – and this change is
perhaps coming faster and will be more
radical than many market observers have
expected. This is suggested, for instance,
by the fact Daimler has founded a
subbrand for its fleet of electric vehicles. And
not just a revamped version of an existing
model? We’ll soon get a look. The kick-off
is at the Paris Motor Show at the
beginning of October where the corporation
will present an electric-powered SUV that
is based on the GLC model and that has
a driving range of around 500 km.
The decision in favour of a sub-brand
with a unique design and a new image
fits in with the apparently failed
incentives program introduced by the German
government to spur sales. As we at
ATZelektronik have emphasised again
and again over the past eight years, what
is missing are convincing products and
authentic marketing based on leadership.
Instead, the automobile industry, with
the exception of BMW, has focused on
what can be managed using the means
that are already available, i.e. converting
existing vehicles and producing them at
existing facilities. Assessments of the
prospects of the plug-in hybrid are still
inflated, a situation that will soon
backfire on the traditional automobile
manufacturers because it is more of a solution
designed to secure compliance with
corporate-average-fuel-economy
specifications than to provide customers with a
viable, fuel-efficient alternative.
The arguments reiterated by the
automobile industry have lost their plausibility,
thanks to Tesla. It takes someone to
prove it, just like Toyota did with its long
disparaged hybrid technology. Frustrated
and at the same time motivated, veteran
managers in the automobile industry are
coming around to admitting that a
startup culture and more progress in shorter
amounts of time is necessary. Harald
Kröger, the former Head of Electric
Vehicle Development at Daimler who recently
switched to Bosch, was a member of the
board of directors at Tesla when the
proposed joint venture was abandoned. In
an interview with ATZelektronik, which
was published in our anniversary edition
in 2015, Kröger was full of praise for the
agility, the courage and, particularly, the
pragmatism of the Tesla employees. He
also went on to say that these factors
could not simply be superimposed on the
existing Daimler culture. In fact, he
suggested, it was an exciting daily challenge
to find a balance between the cultures.
While matters of intercultural exchange
remain exciting, far more exciting is the
transformation within existing cultures.
Time is of the essence. And the Zeitgeist
is right. It’s not going to work without a
start-up mentality. I don’t know about
you, but I can’t remember more exciting
times in the automobile industry. (...truncated)