Show Notes
Germany's economy is losing momentum while many European peers continue to grow. What needs to change? In this episode, Sasan Hashemi speaks with Dr. Andreas Cornet, former McKinsey senior partner with 30+ years in the automotive industry. They discuss why Germany may need an economic pivot, how "Shift and Lift" can guide investment and productivity, and where energy policy and regulation hold the biggest impact. The discussion is led through 30 years in consulting, from systems thinking to constructive dissent - and reflections on where past transformations could have gone further. Follow the podcast along for monthly conversations with insiders and innovators as we explore where cost management and manufacturing are heading.
Find the video episodes on our YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@Beyond_Cost
More from Beyond Cost
What if German manufacturers aren't losing to Chinese technology, but to Chinese speed? In this episode of Beyond Cost, host Jakob Etzel talks with Prof. Dr. Martin Koers about the one area where German manufacturers still lead: combustion engineering. Then they turn to the three where China has already passed them: battery electric vehicles, software-defined vehicle architecture, and autonomous driving. Martin Koers ran the VDA, Germany's automotive industry association, for seventeen years and visited China many times, but he didn't understand the real speed of the country until he moved there to teach at Shenzhen Technology University. What he found was a 9-9-6 work culture, a cashless economy, and five-year government plans that set the goal while a brutal domestic market decides who survives.
Europe's answer to every risk: find someone to blame, add a regulation, slow down. But what if that answer is the real risk? *See German version below. In this episode of Beyond Cost, host Jakob Etzel talks with Prof. Dr.-Ing. Achim Kampker, Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility at RWTH Aachen, about Europe's battery production deficit, regulatory overload, and why the fastest always beats the biggest. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kampker's argument is blunt: waiting for perfect conditions is the fastest path to irrelevance. From scrap rates as the most underestimated cost factor, to AI in manufacturing, to the wrong question being asked about autonomous driving. In this episode, you'll learn: Why Europe needs a dual strategy on battery production, and why one giant factory isn't enough What scrap rates actually cost in e-mobility manufacturing, and why nobody budgets for them How AI, laser drying, and humanoid robots will change manufacturing costs Why the autonomous driving debate is asking the wrong question What cost engineers and procurement leaders must learn today that didn't exist ten years ago 📖 Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kampker covers this in depth in his latest book, check it out here: https://amzn.eu/d/09Ji11jK ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Antwort auf jedes Risiko scheint dieselbe zu sein: Schuldige suchen, neue Vorschriften schaffen, Prozesse verlangsamen. Doch was, wenn genau das zum größten Risiko wird? In dieser Folge von Beyond Cost spricht Jakob Etzel mit Prof. Dr.-Ing. Achim Kampker, Leiter des Lehrstuhls Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM) an der RWTH Aachen, über Europas Rückstand bei der Batteriezellproduktion, die Folgen zunehmender Regulierung und warum in Zukunft nicht die Größten gewinnen werden, sondern die Schnellsten. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kampker vertritt eine klare Position: Wer auf perfekte Rahmenbedingungen wartet, macht sich selbst irrelevant. Im Gespräch geht es um Ausschussraten als einen der am meisten unterschätzten Kostentreiber der E-Mobilität, den Einsatz von KI in der Produktion und die Frage, warum die Debatte über autonomes Fahren oft am eigentlichen Thema vorbeigeht. In dieser Folge erfahren Sie: Warum Europa bei der Batterieproduktion eine Doppelstrategie braucht und weshalb eine einzige Gigafactory nicht die Lösung ist Welche Kosten Ausschussraten in der E-Mobilitätsfertigung tatsächlich verursachen und warum sie häufig unterschätzt werden Wie KI, Lasertrocknung und humanoide Roboter die Produktionskosten der nächsten Jahre verändern werden Warum die Diskussion über autonomes Fahren die falsche Frage stellt Was Cost Engineers und Einkaufsverantwortliche heute lernen müssen, das vor zehn Jahren noch keine Rolle spielte 📖 Mehr dazu im aktuellen Buch von Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kampker: https://amzn.eu/d/09Ji11jK
For 35 years, the world has measured sustainability by one number: carbon. But the same steel coil can produce carbon footprints that differ by more than 35%, all ISO-compliant, all "correct."
Every year, A2MAC1 tears down around 70 vehicles, analyzing everything from battery cell chemistry to semiconductor sourcing. For over 25 years, the company has built one of the most comprehensive automotive benchmarking databases in the world.