2024 CAR MBS Recap

Last week, GEM Central’s Christine Roeder, Bernard Swiecki, and Rebecca White attended the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) Management Briefing Seminars (MBS) conference in Traverse City, Michigan. MBS has been a key automotive conference for more than 50 years, bringing together a full spectrum of mobility industry stakeholders, including automakers, suppliers, consulting firms, academia, economic developers, and many other participants. This year, nearly 600 mobility leaders attended the conference and provided the GEM team several opportunities for engagement to share GEM’s work.

One of the key themes of the conference was a more evolved take on electrification. Automaker speakers focused on offering a balanced portfolio of powertrain options in their vehicles that includes conventional Internal Combustion Engines (ICE), as well as conventional hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and the Electric Vehicles (EVs) that will gradually come to dominate the market. Rather than representing a step back from EVs, these product strategies offer a more nuanced and multi-stepped approach as the industry shifts away from ICE vehicles on the path to full electrification.

Speakers expressed caution about low-capacity utilization rates among both automakers and suppliers. The lowered sales and production volumes of the post-pandemic era, coupled with the need to make products geared toward a variety of powertrains, have made capacity planning particularly challenging. On the flip side, there was a general optimism about the economy and the potential for interest rate reductions, with forecasts calling for continued gradual growth of North American vehicle sales and production volumes.

The upcoming U.S. election in November, coupled with uncertainty related to policy direction, was often cited as an impediment to effective decision making, particularly when it comes to powertrain optimization. Several speakers also called attention to the fact that, if an administration change does take place in the White House, many policy changes would take time to implement, particularly those requiring congressional approval. It was clear the federal government remains committed to the success of the mobility industry. The final day of MBS included a special session with the White House National Economic Council that focused on the needs of the supplier community. More to come from D.C. soon on what appears to be a promising new initiative.

Bernard Swiecki
Vice President, Mobility and Research
Detroit Regional Partnership