Abstract:

The paper emphasizes changes in the automotive industry in recent years and how these changes have prompted carmakers to realign their business strategy on short-, medium- and long-term. Overall market growth, the complexity of electronic equipment constantly being added to the cars and reduction of product life cycle have further challenged manufacturers to maintain their operations competitive. As consolidation of car manufacturer alliances and groups facilitates better integration of all these challenges, the pressure on quality, costs and deadlines has significantly increased and needs to be unitarily integrated into a high extent in their supply chains.