What kind of leadership will be required to navigate the dynamic transformation of the automotive industry over the next 15 years, and what can organisations do to develop the leaders of the future?

These are incredibly important questions being faced by businesses now across the sector – and ones I hope to answer in a new report, Vision 2040, which will be published on the Ennis & Co Group website later this month. 

The report provides a window into the thoughts of 20 senior industry leaders representing key verticals across the automotive industry: OEM, national sales company, retail, supply chain and R&D funding. 

Related articles

Planning for the future has been integral to the automotive industry. From OEMs to the supply chain, nothing is more important than getting the product planning and pricing right, with strategies built around predicting market demand in five years’ time. 

This has worked for the industry while the market has been in a steady state. But with the ‘China effect’ taking root, little about the next five, 10 or 15 years is predictable. Who would be a product planner nowadays when market demand is so confused, competition from new entrants is so intense and governments are exerting such a powerful influence on customer behaviour?

Against this backdrop of uncertainty, the ability for businesses to pivot has never been so important – not an attribute that one associates with the big, traditional players.  

When it comes to leadership, the experts I spoke to were unanimous in their belief that leaders of the future must have the adaptability and agility to respond to changes in the market, particularly at a time when governments can upend business models at a stroke through tariffs or changes to net zero legislation. 

This means leaders have a responsibility to keep scanning the horizon when it comes to new market trends, changing customer behaviours, the political climate and developments in technology so they can plot their business strategy ahead of time rather than reacting on the back foot.

As one senior leader put it, ‘If you’re on the back foot reacting, someone else has already stolen your market.’

For this to happen, modern leaders must also have agility in their people. 

The complexities of today’s industry require people to lead through people, and being an effective leader is about how they connect with people and drive them.