31st IESE Auto

The Battle for Automotive

The industry of industries is facing its biggest challenge yet. The digitalization of all areas of business, increasing regulation, a change in user mentality and the emergence of Industry 4.0 have opened the doors for new players to enter the industry and have created the environment for the perfect storm. While established players on the automotive value chain may excel in safety, quality, supply chain and turbocharged internal combustion engines, new players talk about big data, customer analytics, total connectivity and new business models. And while established players are forced to deal with the asset trap of financing significant investments in factories and R&D, new digital players are light in assets, can scale quickly, follow a winner-takes-all approach and have massive margins and liquidity. Will the future of the automotive industry be physical or digital?

In the 31st edition of IESE AUTO, in the collaboration with KPMG, we hope to shed some light on these matters while addressing some “classic” questions about the Spanish, European and global markets. In doing so, we will continue our tradition of providing a premier platform for senior executives from the automotive industry, leading academic thinkers and industry experts to exchange ideas about the future of the industry of industries.