Vehicle Technology: The Race To Innovate - The Future of Performance and Customization Forum

The Race to Innovate: The Future of Performance and Customization will be the focus of a contemporary session on Thursday, November 1, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.in the VTC Theater. This exciting forum panel session will include David Cole, chairman emeritus of the Center for Automotive Research and chairman of Auto Harvest; Patrick Reininger, Polk; Mircea Gradu, Chrysler; and Roy Link, Link Engineering.

Technology and open innovation are central to profitable growth for SEMA members. When combined with what Waraniak called the Aftermarket X-Factor and collaborative business, revenue and organizational models, they are rapidly democratizing traditional product, service, marketing and branding strategies. It takes a new way of thinking and tools to deal with disruptive technologies and learning how to future-proof a business.

Together, advanced vehicle  technologies, collaborative practices and the four megatrends have the power to make, move and reshape markets and are leading the automotive industry to one of the most exciting times in history for both OEM and aftermarket industry players. Open innovation, collaboration and designing for customization are quickly becoming best practices and competitive advantages in the new automotive normal. Disruptive vehicle technologies drive innovation, and innovation drives growth. Boundaries are vanishing, and new players with new rules are entering the performance aftermarket.

“The auto sun is rising, but I believe we are only halfway through the crisis that began in 2009,” Waraniak said. “The biggest danger OEMs and SEMA companies face is going native and reverting to their old ways.”

The auto industry and the performance aftermarket are facing increasingly complex vehicles and value chains that require cross-industry product development collaboration, technology roadmapping and future-proofing of product and service offerings. Future-proofing anticipates emerging and future technology developments in order to mitigate potential negative consequences and leverage new opportunities for specialty-equipment businesses. Creating a technology roadmap is one of the best tools SEMA companies can use to help them future-proof their businesses. Disruptive technologies don’t totally eliminate existing technologies, but they do often eliminate businesses and companies.

The Race to Innovate session will focus on how advanced vehicle technology and new business models are being implemented today and how they are impacting the future of performance and customization. It may be tough, but the grid is set for the next few years to be podium years for many SEMA companies.

For more information, please visit: http://www.sema.org/vehicletechnology/vtc-schedule

FREE EVENT: Pre-registration required.

To register, please visit: http://www.semashow.com/register