Finding ways to keep the North American auto industry competitive in the face of enormous economic and environmental challenges will be on the minds of leaders from industry, government and academia gathering in Lexington this spring. The Marriott Griffin Gate Resort will host the ninth annual Global Automotive Conference (GAC), scheduled for April 22-24, its agenda loaded with issues that will influence how manufacturers design, build and market their products in the coming years.†
"What's hot on everybody's mind is what is the future shape of the North American auto industry," said Bill Parson, co-founder and conference chair of GAC. " We have worked hard to create a dialogue on very topical issues that are critical in terms of what's facing this industry."
American vehicle makers are in a difficult market environment with Asian manufacturers offering competitive products at affordable prices. "While possibilities are plentiful, profitable growth is becoming more difficult to achieve and challenges - from the supply chain to the retail environment - can up-end even the best laid plans," notes PriceWaterhouseCoopers in its annual Global Automotive Financial Review. "Amidst this landscape, automotive organizations must conduct their business, while at the same time adapting to new regulations, reducing costs, managing capacity and inventory, and controlling healthcare and compensation costs."
Carlos Ghosn, president, Nissan Motor Company, which has seen North American sales decline 7.8 percent from this time last year, asserts on Autoblog.com that the U.S. auto industry already is in recession. Ghosn told the Associated Press, "We are very lucid on the situation of the industry that there is a recession in the United States, at least in the car market."
The Associated Press report adds that deflated U.S. car and light truck sales in 2007 marked the worst sales year in a decade. Brushing off long-term concerns, Ghosn said he is optimistic the market will improve. Yet, he cites the rising cost of raw materials as yet another concern for automakers.
High on the GAC's April agenda is what's happening to the price of gasoline, along with increased pressures on the industry to produce power plant alternatives such as fuel-efficient, gas-electric hybrids and fuel cells that also address heightened environmental concerns. "With the growing industrial impact of China and India and their insatiable demands for oil, it's going to be an increasing challenge for North America in terms of not only the price but also the supply of the product," said Parson. "The day of $1-$2 gasoline is history. We're looking at $3-$5 in our immediate future. That's not so unusual. I just got back from Europe and they pay $6-$7 a gallon. It's only places like Mexico and Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E that they pay anywhere under a dollar. This is a reality. Five-dollar-a-gallon gas is just on the horizon."
Indicative of the topical scope of discussions scheduled for this year's conference is the lineup of speakers, said Parson. "We'll hear from Mark Fields, executive vice president, Ford Motor Company. He has responsibility for the two Ford plants in Louisville. We also have Ron Gettlefinger, president of the UAW (United Auto Workers.) One area of interest is, what is the positive role that labor will play in the future in terms of economic growth and development of a more competitive North American automotive industry?"
"The second issue is the role that the new domestics are playing," Parson continued, "the new domestics being the Japanese, the Koreans, the Chinese, the Indians, the Europeans. What role are they playing in terms of the future development of this industry? Our perspective of this increased competition is that it's actually a good thing because it's making everyone that much more flexible, that much more focused on innovation."
"Innovation" is among the three themes for this year's conference. "Diversification" and "How to Succeed" complete the trio.
Other speakers include John Hoffecker, managing director, Alix Partners Consulting; Lyle Otremba, vice president, sales and engineering, Global Sealing Systems Division, Cooper Standard Automotive; Justin Petitt, vice president, Booz Allen & Hamilton; and Jim Tobin, executive vice president of business development, Magna International, and president, Magna Asia.
The Global Automotive Conference is hosted by the non-profit Global Advanced Leadership Center in Bowling Green, Ky.†More information about the conference is available online at www.gac.ky.net.