(WWJ) -- Michigan’s auto industry needs to innovate or be left behind. That’s the theme of the annual MichAuto “State of Auto Mobility” report.
“Michigan can not expect to win the future of the industry though legacy alone,” says MichAuto Chief Automotive and Innovation officer Glen Stevens.
MichAuto is the Detroit Chamber’s effort to promote the state’s most important business, the auto industry.
The annual report cites increased competition, the very fast pace of change, and the move toward more automation, including artificial intelligence.
Michigan’s strengths include its educational institutions and a well trained legacy workforce. But, there is also an intense competition for trained workers, as well as a need to retrain many workers for the more software oriented vehicles of the future.
“We have to build around our assets,” says Stevens. “If you look at our ecosystem for manufacturing, innovation testing, our leadership in talent and engineering, The fact that we have the supply chain, and the resources we have around us. Those are things that have gotten us here for 120 years. We have to build on those.”
And building is important, says Stevens. The report says Michigan has to cultivate high tech talent, improve its business climate and provide competitive economic development incentives.
“We have intense competition at all levels, whether it’s next door to us in Ohio and Indiana, but certainly globally.”
China has moved from a land of opportunity for carmakers and suppliers to a fierce competitor.
“The Chinese auto industry really has come into its own,” says Stevens. “And it’s not just the scale that it’s growing at, it’s also the speed that it’s moving at. That’s something that we have to be very intensely competitive and aware of.”
The auto industry remains core to Michigan’s economy. More than 1.2 million jobs are tied to the industry in one way or another, essentially one in every five workers. It’s the top state for vehicle production and investment and the top exporter of vehicles. MichAuto puts the annual economic impact of the state’s auto industry at $348 billion dollars.
The report is issued at a time of big change for the auto industry with a new administration imposing tariffs, pushing carmakers to invest more in the U.S. and changing fuel economy rules. More change could be coming on the state level, with an important election next year that will see a new administration in the Governor’s office in Lansing.
“We’re going to go through one of the most transformational election years, probably, in the history of the state,” says Stevens. “So the auto industry wants to make sure we have a voice, and we are right at the forefront, making sure we are adjusting to and adapting to the changes and the forces that are coming to our state.”