Key Takeaways from VECS 2024
Written by Jason Craker on
Our Automotive Lead, Jason Craker, was honoured to be invited back to VECS 2024, this time as an attendee and not as a keynote speaker.
Spanning two days, the conference saw industry leaders and professionals come together to discuss the future of the transportation landscape. Once again, the team at Insight Events pulled off a truly memorable and insightful event, which is quickly shaping up to be one of the “must-attend” conferences on the circuit!
If you missed this year's event, you can catch up with some of Jason's key takeaways below.
#1 Collaboration: Yes, we have all heard about the importance of collaboration before. However, in the fast-paced world undergoing transformational change, many are going to need to collaborate to succeed. With the technological advancements in Autonomous and Software Defined Vehicles (SDV) accelerating change at pace, European brands run the risk of being left behind. Will the formation of partnerships and collaboration be the heart of future success? This also talks to the very heart of Scandinavian culture, one where everyone is equal and diversity is a way of life. Is this the differentiator where Gothenburg can take the lead from other European Automotive Powerhouse cities?
#2 Disruptors: It is not new news that BYD is investing in Chemists and Tesla in Software Engineers, however, Michel Annink kick-started the event with an awesome Keynote, highlighting the facts across 4 of the main disrupting and differentiating elements - EVs, Autonomous, Connectivity and New Business Models - with the underlying message that disruptors destroy existing technologies and sectors. The image below from that keynote perfectly sums up the risk to traditional OEMs (shared originally by Augustin Friedel!). Michel also clarified the clear need for the sector to accelerate customer-centricity!
#3 Leadership: In a highly technical world full of engineers, where things are changing at such a pace, we often end up finding solutions for technology where it doesn’t add value to consumers. This was highlighted perfectly in a session led by Alwin Bakkenes, on the world of SDV within Volvo Cars, where he highlighted the risk of simply applying new technology against old requirements with a great example of an HMI transformation to AAOS!
This year's event highlighted the need to deliver realisable sustainable change, which is the reason why, here at changemaker, we believe our insight and experience can help the Automotive sector deliver for the future!
We’re really looking forward to seeing what VECS 2025 brings and hope to see you there.