FRANKFURT SHOW: Suppliers need to manage their way through crisis
Author: just-auto.com editorial team | 16 September 2009
The economic crisis and downturn in car manufacturing has been tough on suppliers with even the largest companies facing insolvency, but the key to staying afloat is taking the right actions at the right time, TRW sales and business development chief Peter Lake thinks.
He said: "We have made sure we stay focused on what we are good at in terms of chassis and safety systems and not being diverted into areas beyond our expertise.
"We need to emerge from this economic crisis and suppliers large and small need to take a good look at their balance sheets to ensure they stay in business. That involves making the right choices about where the business is going - just because you can maybe afford to do something doesn't necessarily mean that you should.
"Equally companies need to keep re-investing in product research and development, you can't cost-cut your way to prosperity."
Lake said that TRW's focused expertise and geographic diversity was helping the company through the crisis.
"The North American auto industry has suffered badly but there and in Europe production is picking up again while we have a strong presence in China."
TRW has been in China for more than 20 years and supplies both domestic and foreign carmakers in the country.
"We have full engineering operations there as well as production. We also have test facilities and tracks.
"Overall, however, TRW is almost unique in safety in that we have full systems capability. We can supply everything rather than single component parts."
Lake added that the company was expanding its electronics business by developing brakes and steering systems as well as further developing reactive safety and driver aid technology.
"As we see increasing numbers of electric vehicles so electronics will become more sophisticated. Steering is a particularly interesting area because EVs will need some sort of engine-independent power assistance."
Sectors: Components
Companies: TRW
View next/previous articles
16 Sep 2009 -
Currently reading -
FRANKFURT SHOW: Suppliers need to manage their way through crisis
16 Sep 2009 -
16 Sep 2009 -
Related company research
Global Positioning System (GPS) Market in Automobile Industry 2008-2012
The usage of Global Positioning System (GPS) in the Automobile industry has witnessed a rapid growth in the last few years. The demand for navigation systems, emergence of low cost in-dash navigation devices coupled with aggressive price reduction by...
Related articles
US: Nissan hopes new van will lure pickup buyers
Nissan has shown off its first production commercial van for North America due on sale late this year.
Read more on this hot issue
just-auto's Frankfurt Motor Show coverage
Given the current auto industry state of play, a slimmed down, eye-on-the-budget, Frankfurt motor show was expected, and so it proved. But, while visitor numbers were estimated off 25% to 750,000, several well-known Japanese brands (not including Mazda, which has long been popular in Germany) stayed away, BMW kept its tent folded and the lavish on-stand hospitality of some previous years was noticeably absent, the show was still the usual sprawl.
There are currently no comments on this article
Be the first to comment on this article