30th IESE Auto

In 1985 Prof. Pedro Nueno and Joan Llorens, then President of SEAT, organized the first meeting of the automotive industry at IESE Business School. At the time most people would have thought that cars with driver assist systems, internet connectivity or the ability to get more than 300hp out of a 3L diesel engine would be pure science fiction – but they are reality today.

The past three decades have significantly transformed the “industry of industries”: the entry of foreign OEMs into China and its subsequent growth starting in the 1980s, the emergence of the premium segment and the strategy of global sourcing and production networks in the 1990s, and the mass production of electric cars that are sold via the internet during this past decade may serve as examples. But the transformation continues: the recent entry of Silicon Valley based internet companies and the participation of leading automotive CEOs at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas illustrate that the automotive industry is in a continuing state of flux.

What should we expect to see during the next 30 years? Which technologies will define the cars of the future? How will the industry’s value chains look like? What business models will dominate? If we knew the answers, what conclusions should we draw for our companies today?

At this year’s 30th edition of our annual meeting of the automotive industry, IESE AUTO, we hope to shed some light on these questions while also addressing the "classic" questions relating to the Spanish, European and global markets. In doing so, we will continue our tradition of providing a premier platform for senior automotive executives, leading academic thinkers and industry experts to exchange ideas about the future of the “industry of industries”.