Ghosn to Carmakers: Embrace Tech Industry

Carmakers should embrace rather than fear the disruption to their industry posed by such tech companies as Apple and Google, says Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn.

He tells attendees at a kickoff event for the New York auto show that such companies want to supply highly profitable technology to the transport industry rather than become lower-margin vehicle manufacturers.

Ghosn points out that the mega-tech firms are rich enough to buy car companies outright. If they wanted to become carmakers themselves, he opines, “they could have done it already.”

Ghosn counsels carmakers to look for opportunity in the emergence of mobility services that are redefining the role of cars in the future. He also says three vehicle developments—self-driving technologies, connectivity and electrification—will generate more change in the global auto industry in the next five years than has occurred in the previous 20 years.