Automotive

Master technical complexity. Ensure operational performance.

Severin Edler von Kuepach

M.S. in Systems Engineering

Your Contact Person

Matthias Berger

B.Eng.

Your Contact Person

Automotive Industry Under Pressure to Adapt

Stability Enables Action

Volatile demand, parallel powertrain architectures, and shorter product life cycles are increasing the pressure on OEMs and suppliers to adapt. Production programs, development, and industrialization plans must be adjusted more frequently, while cost and supply pressures remain high. It is crucial to ensure consistent technical maturity, delivery capability, and production output even under changing conditions.

Upheavals in the automotive industry

Industry experience that makes a difference in implementation

New products and features must reach technical maturity while facing intense pressure to meet deadlines and stay within budget. Unclear responsibilities, a lack of transparency regarding the level of technical maturity, or unresolved technical issues jeopardize milestones and the subsequent start of series production.

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Manage development and module projects from both a technical and methodological perspective

Structure responsibilities, interfaces, milestones, and critical dependencies

Make maturity levels transparent and manage risk mitigation and validation planning

Synchronize software development planning with the overall project and industrialization

Identify and narrow down technical failure modes, and structure testing, inspection, and validation processes

Evaluate solution options and manage decisions, actions, escalations, and approvals through to technical maturity
Suppliers or production areas are failing to meet the required quantities, inventory levels are falling, and the supply chain is coming under pressure. It is crucial to identify the causes and bottlenecks on-site and take targeted measures to stabilize production and supply.

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Analyze critical suppliers and on-site production processes

Identify and quantify bottlenecks and capacity constraints

Making output, scrap, availability, and inventory transparent

Structure and manage task forces and shortage management programs

Implement measures to stabilize production and supply

Manage escalations and interfaces between OEMs and suppliers
New products, systems, or plants must be brought into stable production on schedule. If the level of maturity, dependencies, or delays jeopardize the start of production, the critical path must be made transparent and corrective actions must be taken.

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Analyze Maturity Level, Milestones, and Critical Path

Structure work packages and schedule dependencies in a transparent manner

Develop parallelization and special measures to ensure meeting deadlines

Managing Industrialization, Plant Construction, and Production Ramp-Up

Systematically Ensure Supplier and Interface Readiness

Supporting escalations, decision-making, and implementation through to a stable ramp-up
Production is underway, but it is not reliably meeting its targets for output, quality, availability, or costs. Technical issues and operational loss drivers must be identified transparently, and the relevant measures must be implemented until a stable effect is achieved.

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Provide transparency regarding performance losses, cost drivers, error patterns, and quality deviations

Analyze output, OEE, availability, cycle times, scrap, and capacity bottlenecks

Identify technical and procedural causes, as well as relationships among products, processes, and equipment

Develop, test (if necessary), and implement corrective measures, and optimize production processes and equipment utilization

Manage technical task forces and structure solution options, testing and validation scopes, and decisions

Manage cost and performance programs based on KPIs and ensure process stability, approvals, and effectiveness
After end-of-production, components must remain available, even as original suppliers or manufacturing resources may no longer be available. Remanufacturing offers an alternative when technical feasibility, supply, and cost-effectiveness align.

related services

Technically evaluate the recyclability of products and components

Designing and Technically Validating Remanufacturing Processes

Evaluate Production Costs and the Business Case for Remanufacturing

Compare post-production supply options from a technical and economic perspective

Identify suppliers, evaluate their technical qualifications, and support the awarding of contracts

Support the operating system, industrialization, and first-article and approval processes through to implementation

International Project Experience

The Americas

Mexico
, USA

EMEA

Germany
Italy
Poland
Republic of Moldova
Slovakia
Spain
Czech Republic
Turkey
Hungary

A Structured Introduction

Understand the situation on the ground. Provide clarity. Begin implementation.

When deadlines, quality, delivery capacity, or production output come under pressure, we start by assessing the actual situation at the plant, in the process, or with critical suppliers. We combine our on-site observations with the relevant KPIs and project information, distinguish between symptoms and root causes, and use this analysis to determine the next concrete steps.

Our Process

Classifying the Need for Action

We determine which symptoms are apparent, which deadlines, quantities, or quality targets are at risk, and which areas or stakeholders are affected by the situation.

Understanding the Local Context

We visit the plant, process, production facility, or a critical supplier and contextualize manufacturing technology, operational processes, and relevant interfaces within a real-world setting.

Clarify the facts, causes, and levers

We make relevant KPIs and project information transparent, distinguish between symptoms and root causes, and prioritize concrete actions. Where necessary, we immediately establish a task force, implement an escalation process, or proceed with operational implementation.

Case Study: The Automotive Industry Between Transformation and Global Competitive Pressure

0 billion euros

R&D Investments

EU automakers in 2024—more than any other industry in the EU.

0 %

Electric component

in German passenger car production in 2025.

0 %

Share of Exports

among the passenger cars produced in Germany in 2025.

0 %

Electric component

Electric vehicles will account for 25% of global new passenger car sales in 2025.

0 %

below the production level

In 2025, German passenger car production was at 2019 levels—despite 4.15 million vehicles.

> 0 %

China's Share

of global battery cell production in 2025.

Sources: European Commission/JRC, 2025 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard; VDA, 2025 Passenger Car Production and Annual Export Figures; IEA, Global EV Outlook 2026. Compiled by the author.

Automotive