On the afternoon of March 18, 2024, invited by the Dean of Business School, Professor Haldenwang, Dr. Martin Koers, Berlin Managing Director of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) was invited togive a lecture on the theme of "Challenges for the German Automotive Industry – Opportunities or Risks" in Hall D3- 205A.

Today, in the 21st century, global technological change is reshaping the world at an unprecedented speed and scale. The context of this change is complex and diverse, including the deepening of globalization, the rapid development of Internet technology, the rise of artificial intelligence, and the support of national policies. The core force driving this change comes not only from the internal power of scientific and technological innovation but also from the external pressure of industrial upgrading and market competition. In this wave of global scientific and technological change, all countries are striving to seize the opportunity and compete for the commanding heights of future development.

In thisguest lecture, Dr. Martin Koers first introduced the basic situation of the German Association of the Automotive Industry, such as their member companiesincluding transportation, operation and maintenance, manufacturers, suppliers, etc., from the challenges faced by the German automotive industry - opportunities or risks.It was closely related to the industrial transformation in Germany.

Firce global competition has necessitated Germany to find a new development model to remain competitive. Secondly, the changes in production methods brought about by scientific and technological progress have provided Germany with unprecedented development opportunities.Dr. Koers pointed out that the current development challenges include population growth, urbanization, climate change, environmental protection, global competition, resource utilization, traffic safety, traffic growth, etc., and howsolving these problems is the key to success.

Taking the major automobile brands as examples, Dr. Martin Koers talked about the upgrade of 8 models of Volkswagen, as well as well-known car brands such as BYD and Tesla,whichhave alsoadjusted in their energy upgrades, fully demonstrating the strong thrust brought to the automotive industry by the huge wave of development in the world today. The lecture pointed out that these changes are inevitable and not accidental, BYD's entry into the European market and the emergence of Tesla have broken the traditional model, and new technologies have entered the market and changed the market. In the case of Nokia's traditional mobile phones and today's smartphones, the impact of new technologies on the entire market is immeasurable and unstoppable. The advent of the information age will automatically eliminate goods that do not meet the development, just as no one thought that they could take pictures with their mobile phones a few decades ago, but now that they have realized, there is no longer a need for cameras, and the market for cameras has shrunk greatly.

As an important participant and promoter of global scientific and technological change, China has made remarkable scientific and technological achievements in the past few decades. With the support of the Chinese government, China has made important breakthroughs in important scientific and technological fields such as new energy, and its global influence has been continuously enhanced. At present, China is committed to building an innovative country, actively participating in global science and technology governance, and contributing China's wisdom and strength to global science and technology transformation.Dr. Martin Koers showed that China is becoming an automobile exporter, and China's market share is also increasing, which is due to the transformation and upgrading of China's automobile industry, seizing development opportunities, and actively facing challenges.

At the end of the lecture,Dr. Martin Koers pointed out that under the wave of globalization, opportunities, and challenges coexist, but trade protection policies have built high walls to interrupt the mutually beneficial cooperation of countries, and various challenges such as population aging, resource crisis and political friction need to be solved urgently. Only by accurately recognizing changes and responding to changes scientifically can we continue to make breakthroughs and developments in global scientific and technological transformation. Therefore, we must continue to innovate and change, which is both an opportunity and a challenge, and we must seize the opportunity to face the competition.

Picture: Chen Yi

Text: Ou Yunyun

Review: Liu Gang