Thorsten Muschal: Optimism and caution prevail, entering into 2021
The automotive and mobility technology suppliers have started the year 2021 with mixed feelings of optimism and caution. Optimism, because demand for vehicles and components is picking up more rapidly than expected and the appetite for new, innovative technologies is accelerating. Caution, because the scars from 2020 are deep and the level of uncertainty remains high. What are the threats and opportunities for the automotive and mobility technology sector in 2021? We’ve listed five themes that will play a key role in shaping the recovery.
Thorsten Muschal, member of the management of Faurecia and CLEPA President comments on the supply industry’s outlook on the new year: “COVID-19 has hit the automotive supply industry particularly hard and the impact of the crisis will remain a major factor in the new year. Many in the supply industry, in the last months of 2020, have managed to recover a good portion of the
Pandemic scars will not heal quickly, European suppliers say
Reuters
Employees at Zender, a German textile supplier to the auto industry, turned to making protective masks in April, when European auto production was largely halted.
Automotive production is expected to rebound in 2021, but the 2020 pandemic year has left deep “scars” on European partsmakers, industry group CLEPA said.
The economic disruption from coronavirus was a factor in the loss of 50,000 total jobs from Tier 1 suppliers, a continuing shortage of semiconductors and cuts in R&D spending, group president Thorsten Muschal said Friday in a news release.
“COVID-19 has hit the automotive supply industry particularly hard,” he said, “and the impact of the crisis will remain a major factor in the new year.”