Allemagne

Renault-Nissan et GM-PSA : similitudes et différences

Submitted by Bernard Jullien, GIS-Gerpisa, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan on 5 March, 2012 - 14:25
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PSA-GM.jpg

La chronique hébdomadaire de Bernard Jullien directeur du Gerpisa et conseiller scientifique de la Chaire de Management des Réseaux du Groupe Essca.

Même si ceci ne manquera pas de susciter quelqu’énervement chez PSA, les lumières qui nous ont été fournies cette semaine sur la forme que va prendre "l’alliance stratégique mondiale" GM-PSA font d’abord penser – comme Florence Lagarde l’a souligné déjà la semaine dernière - à Renault-Nissan. Le fait que les deux piliers de la coopération mise en avant soient le partage des plateformes d’un côté et la création d’une structure commune d’achat de l’autre, que la gouvernance de l’Alliance soit assurée par un "steering committee" composé de 4 top managers des deux entreprises, que l’identité des marques soit préservée et gérée hors de l’Alliance tout comme les outils industriels qui continueront d’être dédiés sont autant d’éléments qui rendent comparables les deux manières de procéder.

Cette démarche intermédiaire entre la fusion et la coopération ponctuelle s’explique dans les deux cas par la nécessité politique de respecter l’identité et la "nationalité" des parties d’une part et par la prudence stratégique et organisationnelle que les entreprises ont tiré de leurs expériences passées et de celles qu’ils ont vu d’autres faire d’autre part. read more

Change in the management of subsidiaries due to increasing value competition - as a starting point for a survey on the impact on employment and occupational qualifications†

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Proff, Heike (2012).  Change in the management of subsidiaries due to increasing value competition - as a starting point for a survey on the impact on employment and occupational qualifications†. Gerpisa colloquium.

Currently, automotive companies are increasing their value added in the growth markets of the BRIC countries, despite the risk of losing knowledge, especially in China. Protecting their global market position and handling the major markets, especially the Chinese market, require high levels of foreign investment, not only in production, but also in other value-adding activities such as research and development (R&D). A new form of value chain competition arises.
 
Therefore, global automotive manufacturers’ and suppliers’ management has to adapt to the changing importance of the foreign subsidiaries and now has to coordinate them at least on a regional basis, if perhaps not yet globally.
 
However, up to now, despite the regionalisation in East Asia, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, the value-adding activities of the subsidiaries have been largely confined to single foreign markets. In addition, the interactions between the subsidiaries compared to the exchange relationship between subsidiaries and the parent companies have been low. This has mainly been caused by inter-company transfer pricing and tight, centralized management by the parent companies.
 
Therefore, “integrating a (new) site into the value added network”, as a fourth step in traditional international market management (after 1. Identifying attractive markets and sites, 2. Deciding on the form of internationalisation and 3. Deciding on the form and timing of establishment), has had to be extended by a multi-market management to reduce product substitutability and the scale and scope disadvantages within and between multinational companies (as a first step, to prevent overcapacities) (cf. Proff 2007 and Proff, Proff 2008, based on Bulow et al. 1985). In a second step, the coordination of international value adding activities must be improved in order to further reduce scale and scope disadvantages. Multi-market management thus becomes coordinated multi-market management.
 
Coordinated multi-market management has to increase the exchange between subsidiaries through “strategies covering coordination needs” (cf. Peng, Meyer 2011, pp. 457), which is still low in the automotive industry compared to the exchange relationships between the subsidiaries and the corporate centre or parent company (cf. Fuchs, Apfelthaler 2009, p. 214).
 
Many different “strategies covering coordination needs” are discussed in the literature (cf. overview in Kutschker, Schmid 2011, p. 1035):
 
-        Technocratic coordination strategies that aim to impose routines and standards on operational inputs (e.g. execution of operational processes) and operational outputs (e.g. results) through rules and programmes, plans, budgets, reporting systems and formalisation,
-        People-orientated coordination strategies that are carried out by personal instructions, autonomy, visits, executive transfers, standardisation of roles and culture-orientated coordination and
-        Other “strategies covering coordination needs” such as transfer prices, knowledge transfer and self-organisation.
 
Although many studies examine which coordination strategy is most efficient, and under what contextual factors the use of a specific coordination strategy is particularly efficient, they have not yet succeeded in finding the answers. For this reason, international companies normally use a range of different coordination strategies simultaneously.
 
We used an oral survey as our empirical methodology, in order to identify first indications of future changes in the management of subsidiaries on the basis of increasing international value added competition, and conducted in-depth interviews with experts in the automotive industry using a structured interview guideline. The interviews lasted around one and a half hours on average. This methodology was selected because assessments of future developments, i.e. the strategic perspective of the respondents, were to be recorded. It was therefore impossible to use conventional hypothesis testing and an analysis by multivariate methods.
 
We conducted interviews of 93 industry experts (generally from leading automotive industry associations), well-known academics and top managers (generally managing directors) of subsidiaries of German automotive manufacturers and suppliers in the BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China – all in the year 2010 during research trips to all four countries – and in the German parent companies
 
The interviews showed that of the many “strategies covering coordination needs” discussed in the literature, four appear to be particularly important: 1. Regional management with extensive autonomy from the corporate centre and coordination based on value consensus, 2. Institutionalised knowledge transfer with coordination based on differences in know-how, 3. Personnel transfer with hierarchical coordination and 4. The offer of shared support functions, with coordination via transfer prices which exploit tax advantages.
 
The interviews therefore showed that these four “strategies covering coordination needs” appear important to the experts and are in some cases already pursued in the multinational automotive companies, but that they are not yet followed to an adequate extent. In China in particular, the many sites have not been coordinated so far in a Chinese or Asian network, but mostly remain autonomous value-adding units.  With the fast growth in China and the other BRIC markets, coordination needs will increase (cf. Proff 2012 and Bernhard 2011, p. 31), the role of subsidiaries therefore has to be redefined.
This finding gives rise to a need for further research. We therefore propose a subproject
“Changes in the management of subsidiaries of multinational automotive companies within a new international division of labour and changes in the employment relationship”
for the new GERPISA International Research Project in the field: New Demarcations in the Global Automotive Industry - Breakup of the Triad, as proposed by Ludger Pries and Antje Blöcker.
 
For this subproject, we can derive the following assumptions:
  • Due to increasing value adding activities in subsidiaries operating in emerging markets, a change from a previously largely locally orientated management to a regional and even globally orientated management with increasing autonomy and accretive influence on the management of the parent company is probable.
  • Parent companies need skilled workers, because branding, technical development and the production of central components still have to be done within the parent companies.
  • Despite the shift of research and development activities into new growth markets, the Triad will remain a central location for innovation, because Asian manufacturers are investing heavily in the Triad.
 
In this subproject we will examine assumptions relating to the influences on employment and occupational qualifications in the foreign locations as well as at the parent companies in Germany. Therefore, case studies will be conducted with parent companies of German manufacturers and their subsidiaries in the BRIC countries (in collaboration with GERPISA colleagues in France and Italy, possibly with partners in the BRIC countries). The research framework will consists of theories on the role and coordination of subsidiaries in the international management and value adding activities of multinational enterprises.
 
 
 
 
Selected References
 
 
Bernhardt, W. (2011) Die Automobilindustrie im Jahr 2025 – heute die Basis für den Erfolg von
            morgen legen, in: `Zeitschrift für die gesamte Wertschöpfungskette Automobilwirtschaft
            (ZfAW)´, 14. Jg., S 26-33.
Bulow, J. I., Geanakoplos, J. D., Klemperer, P. D. (1985) `Multimarket oligopoly. Strategic substitutes
            and complements´, in: Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 93, pp. 488-511.
Fuchs, M., Apfelthaler, G. (2009): `Management internationaler Geschäftstätigkeit´. 2. Aufl., Wien.
Kutschker, M., Schmid, S. (2011) `Internationales Management´, 7. Ed., Munich..
Peng, M., Meyer, K. (2011): `International Business´. London.
Proff, H. (2007): `Dynamische Strategien: Unterstützung der Erreichung der angestrebten Wettbe
werbsvorteile im internationalen Wettbewerbsprozess´. Wiesbaden.
Proff, H. (2012) `Managing the transition to electric mobility in Chinese automotive subsidiaries of
MNCs´, will be published in: International Journal of Automotive Technology & Management”,
Spcial Issue on China Strategies, 2012.
Proff, H., Proff, H.V. (2008) `Dynamisches Automobilmanagement. Strategien für Hersteller und
Zulieferer im Internationalen Wettbewerb´. 1. Aufl., Wiesbaden.

Thème: Nouvelles divisions internationales du travail et transformations des relations d’emploi
Thème: A new international division of labor and changes in employment relationships

Global quality production—new patterns of transnational division of labor of German automobile suppliers

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Herrigel, Gary, Ulrich Voskamp, & Volker Wittke (2012).  Global quality production—new patterns of transnational division of labor of German automobile suppliers. Gerpisa colloquium. The contribution will focus on changing transnational production systems of German medium sized automotive suppliers. In addition to the traditional strategy to integrate low wage locations into their transnational value chains (the “extended workbench” strategy), a new pattern is on the rise, which we call „global quality production“. This means, German automobile suppliers are upgrading low wage locations in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as well as in China in upgrade in competencies and capabilities, enabling them to enter higher value segments of production that up to now were thought to be an exclusive domain of German locations. Based on case evidence the contribution will discuss how the process of upgrading at low wage locations in CEE and China is organized. This includes how German automobile suppliers ensure the local pre-conditions for upgrading strategies, such as a capable local supply base and the supply of a of qualified work force With regard to Germany the contribution will discuss the ambivalent implications of this upgrading in CEE and China and the newly emerging new pattern of transnational division of labor. One hand automobile suppliers German locations may face new impositions, when firms use the new options for another round of cost oriented relocation. But there can be new opportunities as well, because the successful operation of transnational quality production systems also depends on the capabilities of German locations to newly direct their profiles to innovation and coordination tasks in global systems. For industrial production in German locations this structural change reduces the significance of its traditional function, but at the same time amplifies its direction to innovation functions. For works councils new options of codetermination open up in this process, but using them is bound to preconditions: adjusting their competence profiles, redirecting their organization structures, and reorganising their power base in a differently structured workforce.
Thème: Trajectoires et stratégies des équipementiers
Thème: Supplier trajectories and strategies

Transplant Automotive Clusters and the Country of Origin in the Southern States of the United States

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Luethge, Denise J., Michael McDermott, & Philippe Byosiere (2012).  Transplant Automotive Clusters and the Country of Origin in the Southern States of the United States. Gerpisa colloquium. This paper will examine the strategic role of each transplant in the parent company’s global strategy, investigate signs of subsidiary entrepreneurship, and examine technology flows between each transplant in the south and the Multinational Corporation as a whole, as well as determine the extent to which theses transplants in the south are creating “centers of excellence” within the MNC, and embedded clusters within the region that is so important for locational enduring competitive advantage.
Thème: Trajectoires et stratégies des constructeurs
Thème: Manufacturer trajectories and strategies

New business models in the transition to electric mobility

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Proff, Heike, Benjamin Jung, & Karl Christoph Sommer (2012).  New business models in the transition to electric mobility. Gerpisa colloquium. After an introduction concerning the need for automobile companies to create new business models alongside with their existing business models to overcome the main difficulties in the transition to electric mobility, the paper presents a business model definition based on recent development in management research. In relation to this business model definition, the paper derives hypotheses on the changes in the identified business model components - the choice of competitive advantage and the choice of value architecture - and in addition on the decisions which are required to manage these changes, e.g. the implementation of the activities for electric mobility in the organizational structure. The paper presents first empirical results from automotive companies in accordance with the derived hypotheses and sheds light on the rise of new business models in the automotive industry in the transition to electric mobility and on the decisions to manage these changes.
Thème: Management de l’innovation, changements technologiques, changements de business models
Thème: Managing innovation, technological change and new business models

Ready for change? Electric Vehicle Technologies Challenge the German Automotive Innovation System

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Kleinert, Ingrid (2012).  Ready for change? Electric Vehicle Technologies Challenge the German Automotive Innovation System. Gerpisa colloquium.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are not only a radical product innovation. They also change the structure of the German automotive innovations system. But is this system ready for such a change? It consists of systemic linked economic and scientific actors and organizations. Their research and development (R&D) activities are primarily centered on a long established technological paradigm which is mainly concerned with the optimization of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles (Aigle/Marz 2007). Innovative and closely related economic ability of a nation or sector result from the functional complementary of the parts and structures of the innovation system (Mayntz 2009). But if those have for a long period of time evolved around one central technology, changing this technological paradigm becomes a structural problem (NPE 2010).
Alternative drive-train technologies are not a completely new issue to the German automotive innovation system (Jürgens/Meißner 2005). But for a long time, EV technologies have played a rather marginal role. Knowledge and competences of the German automotive innovation system are strongly related to conventional gasoline or diesel drive-train technologies. For EV technologies other competences are needed, e.g. on field like electric drive-train, battery technology, energy infrastructure, system integration, and recycling. Also, the diffusion of EVs requires new and innovative forms of mobility and business models. The German automotive industry seems to be rather late picking up R&D on EV technologies and prefers to stick to the traditional path of optimizing ICE technologies. Even today, while pointing out the importance of EV technologies, actors of the German automobile industry still emphasize the further potential and future relevance of ICE technologies.
The long established technological paradigm of the German automotive industry has strongly influenced the organizational structures of its innovation systems. The question arises, if it is ready not only to change its technological paradigm but also the structures of its innovation system. Will the German automotive innovation system be able to integrate new actors and organizations which are important to cope with existing deficits? And, will this change still come in time to take a leading economical position in electric mobility?
In this paper, I discuss from a sociological point of view the re-structuring of the German automotive innovation system. I chose a descriptive approach to overview the changing R&D activities of major German car manufacturers, suppliers and scientific organizations involved in automotive R&D.
First, it can be shown that the innovation system has been structured around a relatively stable set of technological issues: mechanical engineering, automotive engineering, and mechatronics. But the development of EVs requires research and competences on other issues: electrochemistry, electrical energy storage, power electronics, materials science, electronic engineering and information technology (NPE 2010). R&D on EV technologies requires overall system comprehension and interdisciplinary collaboration of scientific disciplines which have not been co-operating much before. Including new actors and organizations in the innovation system is essential for its abilities, but adds to the complexity of the structure of the innovation system and leads to further differentiation. A second point of this paper is to describe and analyze this new formed projects and co-operations. It can be shown that those projects and co-operations are still in an orientation phase and coordinating structures have still to be established.
Another important aspect of the German automotive innovation system is that actors and organizations are not bound to the national context. Co-operative relations, such as joint ventures and strategic alliances, concerning R&D activities often involve international partners. The German automotive innovation system compensates its own deficits through international knowledge exchange. This adds to the growing competition between new, establishing and old, existing structures e.g. for financial resources. Therefore, a third object of this paper is to describe the role of international partners in the re-structuring of the German automotive innovation system.

References:
Aigle, T., Marz, L. (2007): Automobilität und Innovation. Versuch einer interdisziplinären Systematisierung, Discussion Paper SP III 2007-102, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB).
Jürgens, U., Meißner, H.-R. (2005): Arbeiten am Auto der Zukunft. Produktinnovationen und Perspektiven der Beschäftigung, Berlin: Sigma.
Mayntz, R. (2009): Geleitwort, in: Blättel-Mink, B./ Ebner, A. (Hrsg.): Innovationssysteme. Technologien, Institutionen und die Dynamik der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit, Wiesbaden: VS Verlag, 7-8
NPE (Nationale Plattform Elektromobilität) (2010): Zwischenbericht der NPE AG 6 – Ausbildung und Qualifizierung, 30. November 2010, Berlin.

 

Thème: Management de l’innovation, changements technologiques, changements de business models
Thème: Managing innovation, technological change and new business models

Making distributed R&D work – Internationalization of Teamwork in R&D-Teams and its formal and informal aspects

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Sauer, Stefan, & Sabine Pfeiffer (2012).  Making distributed R&D work – Internationalization of Teamwork in R&D-Teams and its formal and informal aspects. Gerpisa colloquium. Focusing teamwork in R&D teams this paper deals with new forms of an international division of labor in the automotive sector and its formal and informal consequences. We present theoretical implications and empirical findings from three case studies conducted in the joint research project ‘TRUST-Teamwork in cross-company cooperation’, which is financed by the BMBF and the ESF. In our research we surveyed 44 qualitative, semi-structured interviews in automotive suppliers, with a length of 60-90 minutes each. For quite a long time transformations of the automotive sector depending structuring and restructuring processes in older and new production spaces have been taken place.. In the last years, also the R&D sector is affected from the ongoing processes. Especially (new) habitats in Eastern Europe and China have increasing R&D responsibilities. These habitats are not longer elongated workbenches, but part of globally distributed production and development (Voskamp/Wittke 2012). In our empirical findings we can identify three forms of transnational R&D cooperation: Subsidiaries acting as a support location, as associated partners of implementation, and performing their own projects including technical administration (Schilcher et al. 2011). The new transnational division of innovative work has led to changes in employment relationships, organizational structures, and team relationships depending communication processes and daily work. Engineers in the headquarters are faced with colleagues with lower wages and lower working standard – and vice versa. Furthermore, employees of all habitats experience a lack of transparency concerning management’s strategy. Without clear perspectives in the cooperation, a high level of anxiety concerning employment security and mutual rivalry is increasing. Other challenges are cultural differences (Jameson 2007) like a differing feedback culture, which can lead to misunderstandings and the missing possibility to solve problems in face to face interactions involving the working subject. Due to these reasons, mistrust is increasing in the analyzed R&D- Teams and obviates trust-based teamwork. These experiences show that there are formal and informal aspects which are important for a successful international division of labor (not only) in R&D teams. Not only new employment relationships, also their interpretation, not only the new organizational structures, also their communication and acceptance, not only new team relationships, also their impacts and team-building are very important. And R&D- Teams need solutions for both formal structures and informal cooperation.
Thème: Nouvelles divisions internationales du travail et transformations des relations d’emploi
Thème: A new international division of labor and changes in employment relationships

Buyout-deals and the restructuring of employment relationships in the German automotive supplier industry

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Scheuplein, Christoph (2012).  Buyout-deals and the restructuring of employment relationships in the German automotive supplier industry. Gerpisa colloquium.

Buyout-deals and the restructuring of employment relationships in the German automotive supplier industry
The acquisition of industrial enterprises by financial investors has become widespread in the last decade in the continental European countries. From the outset employees resisted this, because acquisitions were often followed by higher pressure on working conditions. In recent years, however, in the discourse of civil society and in legislation, the effects of private equity have also been viewed more critically.

The presentation investigates the example of the automotive supplier industry in Germany, where in recent years the spread of financial investors has been stopped. Based on data of 140 automotive suppliers, which have been bought by private equity companies between 2000 and 2011, the presentation shows, why the restructuring failed to materialize. There was an above average rate of companies owned by private equity going bankrupt, the market was not been consolidated and the private equity companies lost their interest in the automotive industry. During the years from 2004 to 2008, around 20 businesses were taken over by private equity firms every year.  However, since then the annual rate has dropped to half as many. These are often firms that are being sold to a second or third financial investor (secondary buyout) or which have already entered insolvency under a private equity firm.  Trade unions and works committees had a
significant part in this process by moulding information networks and intervene in restructuring processes. In addition, the trade unions have influenced a law passed in 2008, giving the works councils more information rights. In addition, the works councils of the final producers (and the employee representatives on their Supervisory Boards) supported the
restructuring of suppliers during the crisis.

However, suppliers owned by financial investors were only supported to a limited extent. In the end, the attitude of the enterprise managements has also changed. Whereas private equity was initially thought of by managers as a fitness program for the company, meanwhile they have observed negative effects on human resources. The results are presented from approx. 15 interviews with works councils of automobile industry suppliers, including Honsel, Peguform, Edscha and TMD Friction.
 

Thème: Nouvelles divisions internationales du travail et transformations des relations d’emploi
Thème: A new international division of labor and changes in employment relationships

Electric Mobility and Improving Flexibility: Industrial Transformation Process Analysed by the Example of the Bavarian Automobile Region Ingolstadt

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Siebenhüter, Sandra, & Thomas Meyer (2011).  Electric Mobility and Improving Flexibility: Industrial Transformation Process Analysed by the Example of the Bavarian Automobile Region Ingolstadt. Industrielle Beziehungen. 18(electric mobility, flexibility, work organization, labor market policy, Audi), The technical revolution of the Electric Mobility already reached every car producer whereas the consequences of this development are unpredictable. Although the electrification of the engine has top priority, there are several questions concerning work organization, infrastructure, ecology or politics which up till now haven’t been answered properly. The predominance and the power of the local – or even better: global – car producer Audi is well recognized in the Ingolstadt region. This article tries to stress the implications of the Electric Mobility first on Original Equipment Manufacturer’s work organization and secondly on their economic region.

Electric Mobility and Expanding Flexibility: How to remain innovative?

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Meyer, Thomas (2012).  Electric Mobility and Expanding Flexibility: How to remain innovative?. Structuring new automotive industries; restructuring old automotive industries and the new geopolitics of the global automotive sector. The technological turnaround from conventional to electric cars has already reached both car producers (OEM) and suppliers. The technological complexity, the enormous time pressure to present electric and hybrid cars on the one hand and the OEM’s general objective to reduce costs and financial risks on the other has emerged a new actor on the automotive scope: Engineering Service Providers (ESP). Whereas classical suppliers generally do only have know-how in producing modules, ESP additionally have know-how in developing specific modules. Yet this kind of expanding flexibility and innovation outsourcing – is this a special way of Open Innovation? – might lead to strategically dangerous results for OEM on the long run: First, if the innovative part of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV), Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV) or other automotive inventions is outsourced to external ESP, OEM are in danger of losing specific know-how in their main competence, the car’s technological setup. This might trigger the situation that a one-sided and irreversible knowledge drain from OEM to ESP takes place and OEM have to buy the main components and assemblies for their cars from external providers. Second, ESP generally use contracts for work and services (“Werkverträge”) to employ their engineers, i.e. these high-qualified engineers are predominantly employed only for the specific work or service duration. As a result this new business model might arise different strategic, political and social tensions between OEM and ESP. The paper tries to stress the implications of the continuing necessity of technological innovations – especially in the light of Electric Mobility –, the externalisation of particular technological development work from OEM to ESP and the employees’ contractual situation. It refers to an empirical study which is realized in the Ingolstadt region including the premium car producer Audi.
Thème: Management de l’innovation, changements technologiques, changements de business models
Thème: Managing innovation, technological change and new business models

Du modèle japonais il y a vingt ans au modèle allemand aujourd’hui : qu’y a-t-il derrière ces mythes ?

Submitted by Bernard Jullien, GIS-Gerpisa, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan on 6 February, 2012 - 11:03
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lean_machine.jpg

La chronique hébdomadaire de Bernard Jullien directeur du Gerpisa.

Le Gerpisa accueillait vendredi dans le cadre de ses journées mensuelles de travail (voir http://gerpisa.org/node/1538) Tommaso Pardi, sociologue et directeur adjoint du Gerpisa qui a, fin novembre, soutenu sa thèse portant sur les implantations japonaises en Europe et les difficultés qu’elles ont rencontrées. Intitulée "La révolution qui n'a pas eu lieu: les constructeurs japonais en Europe (1970-2010)", cette thèse importante propose, entre autres apports majeurs, une "histoire du lean" comme idéologie managériale qui s’impose dans les années 90 et reste depuis au cœur des discours mobilisateurs par lesquels passe la quête de l’amélioration des performances. C’est sur cette question spécifique qu’est intervenu T. Pardi ce vendredi en s’arrêtant longuement sur la genèse et l’accueil de l’ouvrage fondateur de nos collègues américains Womack, Jones et Roos qui publièrent en 1990 "The Machine that Changed the World" qui, avec le soutien de Raymond H. Lévy, alors patron de Renault qui le préfaça, fût traduit en France dès 1992 sous le titre "Le système qui va changer le monde". read more

Face au déficit automobile français : reconquérir la production des petites ou assurer son retour sur les grosses ?

Submitted by Bernard Jullien, GIS-Gerpisa, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan on 30 January, 2012 - 11:08
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la-balance-commerciale-francaise-depuis-1960.jpg

La chronique hébdomadaire de Bernard Jullien directeur du Gerpisa.

La célébration du démarrage de la production de la 208 à Poissy est venue rappeler à point nommé : que le cœur du marché français et des positions compétitives des constructeurs français en Europe est constitué par ce segment ; que, pour peu qu’ils soient suffisamment chargés et que l’on y investisse normalement, les sites français dégagent des performances qui permettent à un constructeur de continuer de leur donner les premiers rôles dans la production.

L’analyse du commerce extérieur va très clairement dans ce sens en montrant :
que le passage de la situation d’excédent qui prévalait encore en 2007 lorsque l’on assemblait en France plus de trois millions de voitures à la situation de déficit que l’on constate depuis est venu des petites voitures et de la place qu’ont pris dans leur assemblage les sites des nouveaux états membres (NEM) et de Turquie ;

que la montée en gamme que l’on a constaté parallèlement pour une part des clientèles s’est effectuée assez clairement au profit des constructeurs allemands et a conduit à ce que se creuse aussi le déficit plus "traditionnel" du commerce extérieur automobile français sur les plus "grosses" voitures. read more

La Commission et la Cour de Justice Européenne face à la loi Volkswagen : la libre circulation des capitaux envers et contre tout

Submitted by Bernard Jullien, GIS-Gerpisa, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan on 5 December, 2011 - 13:37
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volkswagen_logo_01.jpg

La chronique hébdomadaire de Bernard Jullien directeur du Gerpisa.

Alors que l’on se gargarise autour d’une Europe toute entière dévouée aux intérêts et aux desiderata allemands, on apprenait il y a dix jours que la Commission repartait en guerre contre la loi Volkswagen. Considérant que les modifications qui ont été apportées en 2008 à la dite loi pour feindre de se conformer au droit européen sont insuffisantes, la Commission porte l’affaire devant la Cour de Justice Européenne et lui demande d’astreindre l’Etat allemand à une amende journalière de plus de 31 000 euros qui courrait depuis que l’arrêt de 2007 exigeant la modification de la loi a été prononcé jusqu’à aujourd’hui. La Commission demande également que cette amende journalière soit portée à 282 725 euros par jour à compter du jour où le nouvel arrêt de la CJE interviendra. read more

Immatriculations espagnoles et automobile française : l’Europe va-t-elle laisser passer la deuxième lame de la crise ou se résigner à découvrir les qualités du défaut ?

Submitted by Bernard Jullien, GIS-Gerpisa, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan on 7 November, 2011 - 12:28
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crise_espagnole.jpg

La chronique hébdomadaire de Bernard Jullien directeur du Gerpisa.

La parution cette semaine des immatriculations en octobre dans les différents pays européens et les perspectives sombres qu’elles ouvrent confortent chez beaucoup d’analystes et d’acteurs le sentiment que l’on avait un peu vite parlé de sortie de crise en 2010 et 2011. En Europe, les marchés qui avaient été soutenus avec succès se tiennent les moins mal : c’est le cas de la France et de l’Allemagne.
A l’inverse, l’Italie, le Royaume-Uni et, surtout, l’Espagne c’est à dire les trois grands autres marchés qui avaient le plus souffert en 2008-2009 n’ont nourri des espoirs de rétablissement que quelques mois et ce sont eux qui, à nouveau, nourrissent les craintes de voir des sites menacés ou restructurés. Parmi eux, l’Espagne incarne, en cette fin 2011, l’impasse dans laquelle on se trouve. read more

Les tensions entre Suzuki et Volkswagen : une ombre au tableau de la réussite impériale

Submitted by Bernard Jullien, GIS-Gerpisa, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan on 5 September, 2011 - 11:01
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vw-suzuki-shake.jpg

La chronique hébdomadaire de Bernard Jullien directeur du Gerpisa.

Weekly column by Bernard Jullien director of Gerpisa.

Passé un peu inaperçu dans l’actualité automobile de l’été, l’épisode très conflictuel de la vie de la jeune alliance Suzuki-VW était au centre des commentaires au Japon en juillet. Il a continué d’être assez largement scruté en août.

Rappelons que VW et Suzuki s’étaient rapprochés fin 2009. On avait alors vu VW prendre 19,9 % du capital de Suzuki pour 1,7 milliard d’euros. En retour, Suzuki devait à son tour rentrer au capital du groupe de Wolfsburg. Etant données les complémentarités technologiques et géographiques entre les deux entreprises, les analystes n’avaient guère eu de mal à trouver les arguments justifiant l’opération. Ils avaient toutefois eu tendance à regarder très volontiers le dossier à partir des intérêts de Volkswagen et à faire comme si il s’agissait là d’une flèche supplémentaire – indienne - ajoutée dans le carquois, déjà convaincant, des équipes de Piech. read more

Si la VDA à la française est évidemment souhaitable, est-elle faisable ?

Submitted by Bernard Jullien, GIS-Gerpisa, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan on 27 June, 2011 - 09:45
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La chronique hébdomadaire de Bernard Jullien directeur du Gerpisa.

A l’occasion de la rencontre qu’Autoactu et l’Observatoire de l’Innovation Automobile organisaient ce jeudi à Paris sur la question de la compétitivité de l’industrie automobile en France a été évoqué par plusieurs des intervenants l’intérêt qu’il y aurait à doter la filière d’un équivalent français du VDA allemand. Rappelons que la VDA – pour Verband der Automobilindustrie càd, littéralement, Union de l'industrie automobile - est un organisme chargé de définir les standards utilisés dans l'industrie automobile dans la zone d'influence allemande. Créée en 1901, elle (l’Union) réunit l'ensemble des constructeurs et leurs principaux fournisseurs et son principal objectif est de représenter les intérêts de ses membres et de permettre un échange d'idées entre eux. Comme son rapport l’indique : "La VDA représente les intérêts de toute l’industrie automobile allemande, ceux des constructeurs aussi bien que ceux de leurs fournisseurs. Cette combinaison confère à la VDA un caractère unique sur le plan international puisqu’une très large palette de configurations difficiles qui voient le jour dans la relation constructeurs/fournisseurs peut être discutée et réglée sous l’égide de la VDA." read more

De la nouvelle géographie de la production au nouveau paysage géostratégique dans l’automobile mondiale

Submitted by Bernard Jullien, GIS-Gerpisa, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan on 11 April, 2011 - 14:44
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La chronique hébdomadaire de Bernard Jullien directeur du Gerpisa.

La parution des chiffres de l’Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles (OICA) sur la production 2010 dans le monde a été relativement peu commentée. Elle fait pourtant apparaître de manière criante le caractère irréversible de l’irruption d’un nouvel ordre automobile mondial. En effet, outre le fait que la Chine assure désormais presque un quart de la production (18,2 millions des 77,6 millions de VP et de VUL fabriqués dans le monde), l’importance prise par les nouveaux pays de l’automobile durant la crise ressort avec éclat. Si l’on compare ainsi 2010 à 2007 où la production mondiale avait été de 73,3 millions, il ressort que les seuls BRIC représentaient en 2007 moins de 16 millions de véhicules produits (21,4% de la production mondiale) alors qu’en 2010 ils en auront assemblés 27 millions (c’est à dire 34,6%). De même, dans la hiérarchie mondiale des pays constructeurs, la France était encore au 6ème rang en 2007. En ayant vu sa production passer de 3 à 2,2 millions alors que la production croissait rapidement ailleurs, Brésil, Inde, Mexique et Espagne sont désormais devant elle et la France pointe au 10ème rang. Au sein de l’Europe, le redéploiement des productions est également très frappant puisque, avec une production de 857 000 véhicules, l’Italie est par exemple devenue un producteur de moindre importance que la République Tchèque ou la Pologne. read more

VW, its performance and precautions when analysing brand-based results

Submitted by Bernard Jullien, GIS-Gerpisa, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan on 14 March, 2011 - 11:46
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Weekly column by Bernard Jullien Director of Gerpisa.

This week's publication of Volkswagen Group results attests to the solidity of Europe's leading group and translates the relatively good health of the global automobile sector along with the ability of a highly internationalised group to take advantage of this situation.
It also lends credence to the group’s strategy for 2018, by which time VW intends to produce more than 2 million vehicles, vs.7,278 in 2010. Lastly, it reinforces the sense that it is possible for a company to succeed in the automobile sector even if it maintains deep roots in high-wage countries.

A detailed examination of these results and of some of the analyses that followed calls for a number of remarks, however.
1) Europe remains relatively important for the VW group and it is interesting that out of revenues of €126 billion, Europe accounts for two-thirds of the total with the rest more or less evenly split between North America, South America and Asia-Pacific. Even if sales by Chinese partner firms are not consolidated in VW’s group turnover (which only show profits), this observation indicates that the solidity of its European positions remains one of the group’s key characteristics. read more

VW, ses résultats et les précautions à prendre dans l’analyse des résultats par marques

Submitted by Bernard Jullien, GIS-Gerpisa, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan on 14 March, 2011 - 09:52
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La chronique hébdomadaire de Bernard Jullien directeur du Gerpisa.

La publication cette semaine des résultats du groupe Volkswagen ont confirmé la solidité du premier groupe européen. Ils indiquent l’assez bonne santé de l’automobile mondiale et la capacité d’un groupe très internationalisé à en profiter.
Ils rendent crédible la stratégie 2018 du groupe qui entend à cet horizon produire plus de 10 millions de véhicules (contre 7,278 en 2010). Ils confortent le sentiment qu’il est possible dans l’automobile de réussir en conservant une base solide dans un pays à hauts salaires.

L’examen détaillé des résultats et des commentaires qui en sont faits appellent toutefois plusieurs remarques.

1) L’importance relative de l’Europe pour le groupe VW reste fondamentale et on notera que sur les 126 milliards d’euros de chiffre d’affaires, l’Europe représente les 2/3 alors que le tiers restant se partage en 3 tiers d’importance presqu’équivalente entre l’Amérique du Nord, l’Amérique du Sud et Asie-Pacifique. Même si le chiffre d’affaire des coentreprises chinoises n’est pas intégré dans le CA du groupe VW et que l’on n’en retrouve dans les comptes que les profits, ce constat indique que la fermeté des positions du groupe en Europe demeure fondamentale pour lui. read more

Développement durable et industrie automobile: une comparaison France-Allemagne

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Villareal, Axel, & Julia Hildermeier (2011).  Développement durable et industrie automobile: une comparaison France-Allemagne. Journéé du Gerpisa n° 187. Pourquoi faire cette comparaison? Couple industriel « moteur » de l’Europe Poids des deux industries en termes d’immatriculations en Europe Le modèle allemand est il le seul modèle à suivre pour être compétitif? Comment comparons nous? Approche historique comparative du traitement de la question dans les deux pays (de 1970 à nos jours) Comparaison des stratégies et rhétoriques des constructeurs dans la même période Comparaison des différentes politiques publiques mises en place récemment pour aller vers les nouvelles motorisations
Journée du Gerpisa: Le développement durable de l’industrie automobile : comparaison France - Allemagne

With Workers´ Participation through the Crisis and beyond? Strategies of German Carmakers to cope with the impact of the financial crisis

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Pries, Ludger, & Martin Seeliger (2011).  With Workers´ Participation through the Crisis and beyond? Strategies of German Carmakers to cope with the impact of the financial crisis. Gerpisa colloquium.

As indicated by the huge public attention in the media and underlined by recent scientific publications, between 2008 and 2010 the world financial crisis has undoubtedly been the central impact, shaping the social reality of business models and labour regulation all across the globe. Since the automotive industry does not stand out as an exception in this matter, different ways of ‘steering through the turbulences’ caused by the economic crisis have been established by the various car-manufacturers. 
In our presentation we would like to comparatively highlight the strategies of coping with the economic and social impact of the crisis, pursued by two major German carmakers – Volkswagen and BMW. By differentiating company policies into the four dimensions ‘company structure and profit strategy’ (1), the product structure and (international) market strategy (2), the production system (3), and the labour relations and work policy (4), we would like to give an overview about the initiatives taken by the companies to overcome the economic hardships induced by the crisis. Drawing on the analysis of extensive footage of recent developments in the two companies, a summary of the major trends will serve as the basis for the second goal of the presentation.
We will argue that the basis for this comparatively successful way to overcome the crisis, taken by the German automotive industry, can only be understood by drawing on a complex interplay between institutional factors and a dialogic constellation of labour regulation. Based on an understanding of companies as ‘natural systems’ subjected to permanent negotiation between the status groups involved (in our case these are: unions, management, works councils) this interplay constitutes the praxis of the typical German model of workers´ participation.

Thème: Production, travail et relations industrielles
Thème: Production, work and industrial relations

Sustainable Development as a strategic challenge for OEMs and governments: Politics on the Battery Electric Car in Germany and France

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Hildermeier, Julia, & Axel Villareal (2011).  Sustainable Development as a strategic challenge for OEMs and governments: Politics on the Battery Electric Car in Germany and France. Gerpisa colloquium. The integration of sustainable development in the automotive industry’s institutional structures challenges car makers’ dominance in the value chain. SD requirements impact not only car makers’ technological and business strategies, but transform their scope of action as political actors within the industry. This paper asks how French and German OEMs cope with these challenges: Which political strategies do they employ around SD and the “green car” ? What does this imply for the French-German competition on the European market ? How does public policy as a driver and constraint on the national and EU level affect OEMs’ strategies? Especially strategies and policies around the battery electric car (BEV) illustrate that OEMs promote “greening” policies as an instrument to establish new markets and legitimize innovation strategies. The manifold private-public interest coalitions that emerge around the BEV need to be explained in the context of a growing regulative framework on the European decision making level, and the struggle for regulation competence between the two countries’ national governments: The observable differences between the French and German setting help us to understand how the Europe’s “new automobile ecosystem” will be shaped.
Thème: Transformations technologiques, transformations systémiques
Thème: Technological transformations, systemic transformations
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