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Automotive News: Suppliers give Tesla high praise for innovation

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RobStark

Well-Known Member
Jul 2, 2013
11,896
61,479
Los Angeles, USA

Survey: EV maker ties with Toyota for 3rd behind BMW and Mercedes


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Automotive News
November 9, 2015 - 12:01 am ET


DETROIT -- Tesla has cracked the ranks of top-performing automakers in a survey of suppliers that measures carmakers' willingness to encourage innovation and adopt new technology.


Tesla, appearing for the first time in the biennial North American Suppliers' Choice Study by Deloitte and Automotive News, ranked third, tied with Toyota and behind No. 1 BMW and No. 2 Mercedes-Benz. This year's survey ranks 15 manufacturers of vehicles in North America.


The survey showed that suppliers value their ties with automakers that encourage innovation, are willing to build relationships based on trust and are easy to work with. More than half the 170 suppliers that responded said they would withhold their most innovative products from automakers that do not participate in collaborative relationships.

Suppliers gave Tesla high scores in openness, ease of working and trust. "Tesla is extremely aggressive, but takes a position that they are the innovator and will drive technology to the supply base," wrote one commenter, who added: "Could improve with a more collaborative approach."

http://www.autonews.com/article/201...ppliers-give-tesla-high-praise-for-innovation


I felt this is strictly in the "business news" rather than general news so decided to post it here. Full article in link.
 
This is a great find, Rob - thank you for posting.

Consider this quote from Deloitte:
"Suppliers are managing their relationships with OEMs differently than in the past," Forsythe said. "They're being selective about customers with whom they choose to do business."

Think about whether VW's standing amongst suppliers has altered over the past six weeks.

More importantly, remember back to the 2009-13 period? A significant hurdle Tesla had considerable time breaching was the reluctance of suppliers to work with....whom?
This release suggests a perfect 180º turn in that sentiment.

A warning, however: the article also not only states that while
More than half the 170 suppliers that responded said they would withhold their most innovative products from automakers that do not participate in collaborative relationships.
, but that
"Tesla...could improve with a more collaborative approach."
. Now, that was one supplier's opinion only, and any one company could have a scratch to itch, so perhaps one shouldn't read too much into it.

An overall surprise for me is the absolute level of grade these suppliers provide their customers. Mean scores amongst the five criteria range from 520 to 630...out of 1000. Yecch!! The top overall score was BMW's 707. Industry mean an abysmal 578. These fellows don't grade along a curve - I'm impressed.

Finally, I was disappointed the article didn't provide the raw data, to show where each company scored and where their good and weak points are. Have to dig elsewhere to find it.
 
I'm amazed that even this summary information is available for free; thanks Rob!

This quote might be a bit loaded in that even the embedded RTOS, to drivers and support software up through applications is all massively changing at the supplier/component level

William Forsythe IV, a principal at Deloitte, said the landscape is changing "as the vehicle evolves from mechanical to more software-based."

Also, this one made me giggle as sync is driving sales at Ford, but the overall journey with sync has not been easy for Ford

A third wrote: "Ford is quick to implement PROVEN technology but have been bitten by SYNC and are slower when it comes to unproven technology."