One of the first things I wrote in this game was a feature linking all car manufacturers to each other through their joint ventures or commercial ties. A sort of ‘six degrees of Kevin Bacon’ but for auto makers, taking in all major car manufacturers until it looped back to where it started.
I know. They were simpler times. We had to make our own entertainment.
Anyway, it wasn’t straightforward. ‘Using Bosch engine management like everybody else’ didn’t count as a link. Something like ‘Ford sells engines to Caterham, which also uses engines from MG Rover, which is owned by BMW…’ was tenuous yet acceptable. Convoluted but possible.
Today, it wouldn’t be nearly so time-consuming or complex, as our recent feature (Analysis: ‘Why car makers are casting aside old rivalries) makes clear.
New tech is driving car makers together. “They’re having to get serious about electric vehicles, but EVs are a difficult business case,” an analyst from HIS Markit told us.
So companies that wouldn’t otherwise entertain sharing a dashboard button are spreading the burden of development.
Toyota, Subaru, Suzuki, Daihatsu and Mazda are all working together on electric platforms, Ford has joined VW in doing similar, and BMW and Jaguar Land Rover are developing drive units together. Those are just some of the headline tie-ins.
Yet there’s more disruptive tech to think about, too: advanced driver assistance systems leading to some self-driving, shared ownership, ‘mobility’ as a service, alternative fuels, and more. For an industry that until recently was in the habit of introducing a new car 10% more powerful and 10% more economical than the previous one, it’s wildly exciting and completely terrifying. No wonder it’s linking arms as it walks towards the unknown.
There are still the old-school links, too, albeit with new twists. Geely hadn’t made its first car when I wrote that feature. Now it owns Volvo, Lotus, Proton, Lynk&Co and others and has a big stake in Daimler. Vauxhall is now owned by PSA but still makes cars sold by GM. The original feature took me a day or two to work out. Today, it’d take about 30min.
The problem linking them all would be the outliers, the dozens of EV start-ups and tech companies that all have vast electronic, if not vehicle, engineering expertise.
So this outwardly glib feature might be quite telling: vehicle engineering, a century’s experience of making the most complicated, expensive and durable consumer product on earth, is what joins car makers together, and is what they’ll rely on now more than ever.
Back to La Sarthe
I used to be a Le Mans regular but fell out of the habit of going about a decade ago. Not sure why. Elements of Le Mans can be a bit Brits abroad and a predictable winner removes some of the excitement, but for me watching racing at night is second only to watching motorcycle road racing.
If anything will get me back to Le Mans, it’s the 2021 hypercar category being targeted by Aston, Toyota and perhaps Lamborghini. I’m already pencilling in a plan to go, because great though prototypes are, there’s something about road cars being raced that’s particularly attractive.
Read more
Lamborghini considers 2021 Le Mans entry
Analysis: Why car makers are casting aside old rivalries​
Two new compact Jaguar SUVs on the cards, tipped to use BMW platform​
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As 405line says, its the
As 405line says, its the beginning of the end. Electrification and ultimately automation will mean that a large majority of car manufacturers just won't exist in the future: Just as with your taxi, bus, or plane, you're not going to care who makes your 'personal' transport, so you'll end up with just a few main players. The bosses of car companies know this, so take a much shorter term view of things to do whatever they need to do to make hay whilst the sun shines. In the past a manufacturer would be willing to make far less profit (maybe even an initial loss) on, say a small car to attract young and new drivers to the brand, with the hope that they could keep those buyers for many years as their motoring needs changed. Now, the manufacturer is not willing to do this, and argues, for example, that small 3-door hatches don't sell (something the motoring journalists peddle too), but this isn't really the case. Affordable 2-door sports coupes seem to be viewed in the same light and don't help to maximise short term profits and bosses pay levels. So we're left with numerous SUV derivatives, which manufacturers can charge more for, but mean less proper choice for consumers, and manufacturers collaborating to care for each others profit levels in the near future.
Re......sharing between brands.
It’s going to happen, if by 2030, 2050 as the Government hints that owning a Car will be a thing if the past, then things will have to be agreed between Car makers, will spec, options or whatever you want to call them matter as much?, if we won’t own a Car, will there be different levels of payments every Month.Week, Day?, how will this affect Car makers?, will there be less of them?, these are just a few questions, and I’m sure you have more, that will need to answered.
It's the beginning of the end
..and VAG have hastened the general decline and rightly given the anti car lobby a kickstart