Page 160 - COVID-19: The Great Reset

In the last few years, the automotive industry has been
engulfed in a rising storm of challenges, ranging from trade and

geopolitical uncertainty, declining sales and CO penalties to fast-
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changing customer demand and the multifaceted nature of the
rising competition in mobility (electric vehicles, autonomous cars,

shared mobility). The pandemic has exacerbated these
challenges by adding to the considerable uncertainty the industry
is facing, in particular with respect to supply chains. In the early
stages of the outbreak, the shortage of Chinese components had

a detrimental impact on global automotive production. In the
coming months and years, the industry will have to rethink its
whole organization and ways of operating against the backdrop of
reduced supply chains and a likely drop in vehicle sales.

Throughout the successive stages of the pandemic, and in

particular during the lockdowns, the electricity sector played an
essential role in allowing most of the world to carry on digitally, the
hospitals to run and all essential industries to operate normally.

Despite the considerable challenges posed by cyberthreats and
changes in demand patterns, electricity held on, proving its
resilience to shocks. Moving forward, the electricity sector has to
embrace the challenge of accelerating its energy transition. The
combination of investments in progressive energy infrastructure

(like in renewables, hydrogen pipelines and electric vehicle
charging networks) and industrial cluster redevelopment (like the
electrification of the energy required for chemical production) has

the potential to support the economic recovery (by creating
employment and economic activity) while increasing the overall
resilience of the energy sector in terms of clean energy
production.

*****

The micro reset will force every company in every industry to

experiment new ways of doing business, working and operating.
Those tempted to revert to the old way of doing things will fail.
Those that adapt with agility and imagination will eventually turn

the COVID-19 crisis to their advantage.

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