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47 AutoData | March 2019 tion partnerships on specific topics, like Ford and Volkswagen, and more recently BMWand Daimler”, said Todd. “And I don’t think it’s too late to start, but we need to create an environment to enable those partnerships.” One of the obstacles to that co-com- petition, she says, is the different busi- ness cultures that, from one moment to another, need to integrate to collaborate towards the same goal. There is still a certain prejudice: the reception by some vehicle manufacturer directors, when pre- sented to this scenario, is of strangeness and denial. That explains the need to create that environment, since large investments will be necessary, especially in the area of autonomous vehicles and electrification. Todd also projects that, in some cases and in the long term, that co-competition may become a merger, creating a scenario of consolidation in the sector. ELECTRICS The survey also presented a little di- vergent views regarding electric cars, es- pecially when the region cut costs. The Chinese, for example, don’t care so much about the cost of those models - even because local government has a subsidy program - while the South Americans do not believe in segment evolution exactly because of the electric cars’ price. That’s where the KPMG islands theory comes in: although we are talking about a global industry, regional trends are still fundamental for the automakers’ deci- sions. Still in the field of electrics, Todd mentioned the availability of rawmaterials for the batteries as a possible obstacle to the mass-production of electric models. As a result from the responses of more than 1 thousand executives and 2 thou- sand consumers from 41 countries - 66 executives and 113 consumers from Brazil, around 6% to 7% of the total sample - the research was presented in four big chapters: Megatrends beyond Obvious, Product Value, Consumer’s Value and Ecosystem’s Value. The main topics discussed in the mee- ting rooms of companies inside the sector, such as the future of combustion, electric and autonomous vehicles, connectivity trends, mobility and regional trends are contemplated in the study released by the consultancy firm in February. BRAZIL In partnership with AutoData, KPMG, in celebration for the 20 years of the Global Automotive Executive Survey, will produ- ce the Brazilian version of the survey in 2019. Dozens of questions were elabo- rated so that executives and consumers may collaborate to draw a scenario for the Brazilian automotive industry in the coming years. The results will be presented at the AutoData Seminar Revision of the Pers- pectives, on June 24th, in Sao Paulo. The full content of the surveywill be available after the event. “The answer to the performance decrease of the companies is those partnerships for cooperation on specific topics. Like the agreement between Ford and Volkswagen.”