The automotive future: It's the law of the jungle

SAE 100 Future look: When it comes to the global automotive industry, it's a jungle out there. And only the strongest, most agile players are likely to survive and thrive in the future.

Throughout the world, the industry is undergoing deep and fundamental change. A number of key factors are driving this change, including hyper-competition; the successful deployment of advanced, electronic business tools such as the Internet and computer modeling and simulation programs; the rapid emergence of new, modern economies and automotive markets such as China and India; significant production overcapacity; and the integration of the car business across the global community.

For the United States, the auto industry is an economic cornerstone. This reality makes the industry's current transformation particularly challenging for the nation. The typical job at an automotive manufacturer contributes more than $300,000 of value to the economy, which is more than four times the impact generated by the average U.S. job. Additionally, every one of these jobs has an economic multiplier of 10.4. This means that the income from one U.S. job at an automaker supports a total of 9.4 other jobs. Such jobs exist at vehicle-supplier firms or elsewhere in the community.