Turning the Auto Industry Upside Down
Content by The Buzz Business
5 Mobility
Turning the Auto Industry Upside Down
Luca de Meo is a respected automotive industry player . He has twenty-five years ’ experience working for Renault , Toyota , Fiat and , since 2009 , the Volkswagen Group before taking the helm at SEAT last year . SEAT ’ s recently launched Easy Mobility team plays a key role in his ambitious strategy to take the youthful brand to the next level in an era of connectivity .
Where is the industry going ? There are three big technological trends : electrification , autonomous driving , and the connected car . For SEAT , the connected car is the most interesting development . Technology
SEAT ’ s Easy Mobility mission is to simplify the whole automotive experience ” Luca de Meo , President , SEAT
only works when people do not have to compromise what they already have : if you own a car , you expect your new one to be better . When manufacturers add a new option and the cost exceeds 10 % of the total product
Luca de Meo , President of Barcelona-based SEAT price , it never gets ordered . There is pressure on us to deliver in terms of cost and technology . Innovation , however , must be dictated by the needs of our customer base .
Where is SEAT planning to take the lead ? With the connected car . A significant advantage is that we are part of the Volkswagen Group , and we are leveraging this to gain a serious competitive edge . To stay ahead of the game in 2020 , we need to sell electric cars . We may not be a leader in this segment , but we understand that this is something we need to be a part of . I believe autonomous driving is still a long way off . Trucking and public transportation will adopt the technology first . At
SEAT we intend to race ahead in the connected car space .
What changes are you driving ? All auto manufacturers are organized sequentially with a silo culture that goes from design to purchasing to production to engineering , and then to marketing . I decided that in this period of disruption we needed to shake up the company organization in a move away from traditional manufacturing toward Easy Mobility . I have radically restructured the way we work and interact physically . Our new organization has diverse transitional teams reporting to me directly , co-sponsored by different vice presidents and below them the three work groups : digitization and
R & D , business development and customer experience .
What are SEAT ’ s competitive advantages ? I believe SEAT is a brand that can take advantage of its young customer base . Our customers are , on average , 10 years younger than our competitors ’ in Europe . We have a young workforce with an average age of forty . We are probably 10 years closer to new trends . We boast the CTS ( SEAT ’ s Technical Center ). It is one of Spain ’ s biggest R & D centers with over one thousand engineers developing cars , entertainment , suspension and emissions systems . We are transforming CTS into a center of excellence to build digital ecosystems .
What is your approach to the war on talent ? I am investing in our workforce . We are training our own people , giving them the chance to fail and take risks so that in the future they can develop ecosystems . We offer SEAT employees training to be ready for industry 4.0 , so that the people who fit brakes on our vehicles today can program robots in five years ’ time .
SEAT ’ s Easy Mobility Team
n the next decade , the auto industry will undergo greater change I than it has witnessed over the last century . Electrification , digitization , connectivity and mobility will all define personal transportation in the future .
In response , SEAT has set up an Easy Mobility Team , encompassing professionals from across its business units , to drive the company ’ s transformation in three key areas : digitization and R & D ,
customer experience and business development .
The Barcelona-based automaker is determined to lead the pack in digital connectivity . It was the first brand worldwide to introduce a CarPlay-compatible app , allowing iPhones to be used seamlessly while driving and traveling .
The recently launched SEAT Live Store is a platform that enables users to personalize cars virtually before they become a reality . The company has also signed a deal to sell its Mii by Mango model via online retailer Amazon in France .
SEAT is now working with private-sector and academic partners to develop new mobility ecosystems for cities . The CARNET urban mobility research center and a recent agreement with Conector to launch a start-up accelerator , both based in the vibrant and innovative city of Barcelona , are important steps on the road to easy mobility .
From left to right : David Gendry , Customer Journey Responsible ; Fabian Simmer , Chief Digital Officer ; Arantxa Alonso , Business Development Responsible