Faurecia and Accenture have signed a memorandum of understanding for a five-year collaboration to accelerate innovation for mobility services.
Faurecia and Accenture will co-invest to develop products and services for connected and autonomous vehicles. They will focus initially on two areas: cognitive technologies for on-board user experience and services to enhance health and wellness.
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They also intend to leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), analytics, augmented and virtual reality, blockchain and quantum computing to further accelerate Faurecia’s digital transformation.
Their knowledge for these initiatives will be organised within what Faurecia refers to as a “digital services factory.”
“This ground-breaking partnership between two leading players in their fields will take the use of artificial intelligence and data analytics to the next level in the automotive industry,” said Faurecia CEO, Patrick Koller.
“We will accelerate the transformation of our operations and develop new business models and user experiences for the Cockpit of the Future. This partnership will allow Faurecia to be more innovative and agile in the rapid introduction of new technologies, particularly for enhanced health and wellness and intuitive human-machine interfaces.”
For his part, Accenture chairman and CEO, Pierre Nanterme added: “Innovation creates a virtuous circle; enabling companies to secure current growth, while freeing up the capital needed to invest in new products, services and business models to sustain future growth.
“This is exactly what we are doing through this partnership with Faurecia. By combining Accenture’s ability to turn disruptive technologies into business results with Faurecia’s expertise in leading-edge automotive technologies and our two companies’ common focus on innovation, we intend to invent the future of the automotive industry.”
With drivers spending up to 500 hours a year, on average, in their cars and the continuing progress in the field of self-driving vehicles, car interiors will become an extension of the home and office, providing a similar experience and range of services.
The collaboration illustrates what Accenture refers to as Industry X.0, the shift of industrial manufacturing to digital products and services which will increasingly require new methods and processes to produce and deliver as well as support them in the field.
A press conference held by Faurecia’s CEO and Marc Carrel-Billiard, senior managing director, Accenture Global Technology Research & Development, will take place on 8 January during CES 2018 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel at 16:00.
