The global automobile industry is entering a new golden era of innovation and advancement, and the ability to innovate in four key areas—power train, lightweight materials, connectivity, and active safetyClass X capacitors are used in “across-the-line” applications where their failure would not lead to electric shock. Class X safety caps are used between the “live” wires carrying the incoming AC current. In this position, a capacitor failure should not cause any electrical shock hazards, rather, a capacitor failure “between-the-lines” would usually cause a fuse or circuit breaker to open. and assisted driving—will be a major factor in individual carmakers’ success in the years ahead, according to new research by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
The research, released today during the press preview of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, draws on several sources, including the results of a new U.S. consumer survey, an analysis of patent filings, BCG’s annual study of the world’s most innovative companies, and the firm’s experience working with major automotive companies around the world. The findings will be published in a BCG report later this month. Here are a few highlights:
Innovation in the global automotive industry is intensifying.
Fourteen automakers are among the top 50 most innovative companies in BCG’s 2013 survey, compared with 10 carmakers in 2012 and only five in 2005. Three companies (Toyota, Ford, and BMW) rank in the top 10, and nine automakers are in the top 20. For the first time since BCG began conducting this survey nine years ago, there are more auto manufacturers than consumer companies in the top 50 and more carmakers than technology companies in the top 20.
R&D spending at these 14 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) increased at an annual rate of 8 percent since 2009, while spending at leading tier-one suppliers[1] rose by 5 percent a year.1
From 1995 through 2011, the number of patent applications filed by OEMs increased by only 3 percent annually, while the number of filings by tier-one suppliers rose 6 percent a year. A recovery from the 2008 crisis has resulted in the number of applications by tier-one suppliers leaping 37 percent, while the number by OEMs has jumped by 28 percent.
