GSCW chat recap: Gentherm’s Wilson on electrification impact on the supply chain

BIO: Wilson is responsible for leading Gentherm’s global strategy, marketing and communications functions. Since joining Gentherm in 2013, she has moved into roles of increasing responsibility, including serving as vice president and general manager of Gentherm’s medical business. Her career also has spanned manufacturing, engineering, sales management, strategy and business development roles at Visteon and SMR Automotive Global.

Key quotes from Wilson

“The conversations now with our customers are really about the customer experience, the consumer experience. The demands of what they’re looking for in a vehicle are less about feeling the power and gas mileage but more about how they are spending their time in the vehicle. Is it enhancing their everyday life? The topics we see the shift going toward is comfort, convenience, health and wellness.”

“Range and energy efficiency is really a barrier to get the electrification adoption moving faster. There are problems to solve there, and uniquely these products help solve those problems and will actually help the energy consumption of the vehicle.”

“Think about the stories you read in the news about Google or Uber. These are nontraditional companies. This is driving a complete automotive ecosystem redesign. What we’re seeing is the traditional value chain of the tier 3 to the tier 2 to the tier 1 to the OEM, it’s completely being disrupted. … Across the tiers, it’s no longer in a straight line.”