Uma Arjunan

This week, I shared my perspective with Automotive News News on a principle that continues to guide smart business strategy: the Pareto Principle. The idea is simple but powerful—80% of outcomes come from just 20% of efforts. In today’s automotive landscape, this principle is more relevant than ever. Only a few features truly drive brand differentiation and influence purchasing decisions. For consumers, user experience, software, design, and intelligence have become the key factors that shape perception, build brand equity, and define success in the market. Powertrain systems remain essential. But in most segments, they are no longer a source of differentiation. High performance, low emissions, and efficiency are now expected by default. This shift calls for a strategic realignment. To focus investment and innovation on features that truly differentiate the brand, it’s both logical and necessary to delegate the development of foundational, low-differentiation systems—such as powertrains—to a proven, reliable partner. You can read my full article below. https://lnkd.in/gytDuckg

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In the last eight months, General Motors has made nearly a dozen hires from top tech companies—from Google to Meta to AWS—with the aim of building a small but elite AI center of excellence, much of it based in Mountain View, Calif. For many companies, the challenge posed by artificial intelligence rests in how to make practical use of it in operations. For a company like GM, that could mean incorporating AI into back-office workflows, but also into future fleets of autonomous vehicles, manufacturing robots and even motor sports. Currently the team is less than 20 people and the intent is to keep it small, Richardson said. It’s already helping GM executives from manufacturing to engineering use AI more effectively. The new team’s remit is much broader than just autonomy, assisting the organization everywhere from factory production lines to the NASCAR racetrack. The team will consult on AI uses, help individual groups build their own AI workforces, secure partnerships and negotiate vendor contracts. https://lnkd.in/eie6TZWz

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SaaS in automotive retail is getting dismantled as we speak. All those bloated, over-complicated dealer systems that have been clunky since 2005? Toast. The entire $10B+ auto SaaS ecosystem including CRM, desking tools, equity mining, service schedulers, inventory pricing platforms are quietly being hollowed out from within by AI agents. Here's how it's going down Phase 1 (Now): AI as co-pilot. We’re seeing the warm-up acts: - "Help me price this car." - "Draft me an email to this lead." - "Summarize this service RO." SaaS companies are pumped because AI makes their stale products seem fresh again. But they’re bringing knives to a gunfight. Because it doesn’t stop there. Phase 2 (Next 12-18 months): Agent invasion. This is where the dam breaks. Why have five tools and a sales manager juggling workflows when an AI agent can just say: - "Show me which customers are most likely to buy this truck." - "Optimize my used car pricing to move 20 units this week." - "Handle my BDC follow-ups until they reply." The old promise of “integrations” becomes irrelevant. Your AI agent just logs in and does the work across your Frankenstack of systems. Or better yet it builds its own workflows without the legacy baggage. Phase 3 (2-3 years): Software invisibility. This is the funeral for dealership SaaS as we know it. Dashboards? Menus? Buttons? Gone. The AI doesn’t need a UI. It taps directly into the APIs and runs the dealership for you. Why train humans on a CRM when the AI works the pipeline? Why mess with pricing tools when the AI sees the market in real time? Why worry about your BDC when the AI makes calls, sends emails, and follows up? The entire value prop of dealer SaaS the bundling software + workflow + expertise into a clunky interface collapses. And here's the kicker The moat auto SaaS vendors thought they had? The complexity of the dealership? The workflow knowledge? The compliance nuances? That’s all getting commoditized. AI + domain expertise = anyone can spin up custom tools for a single rooftop in days. Forget "buying software." Dealers will build their own that fits their exact process. It used to take $500K and 18 months to build dealer-grade software. Now? It’s almost free and nearly instant. And guess what’s coming next? Customer calls change from "How do I use this feature?" to "Can my AI agent run this for me?" and then "Never mind, we built our own." Meanwhile, vendor revenue shrinks - Fewer seats. - Less usage. - Smaller contracts. And the dinosaurs? They won’t even see it happening. They'll brag about DAUs while their workflows get dismantled under their noses. The upside? It’s a golden era for the next wave of automotive tech startups are the ones building for an AI-first dealership, not just slapping AI on top of old tools. SaaS in auto retail isn't getting disrupted. It’s getting erased.

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I wish I had the opportunity to go and visit companies on a day trip when I was younger, to truly understand what it was like to work in the automotive 🚘 sector. That's exactly why I'm so passionate about our Girls' Day initiative at BMW Group IT on April 3, 2025. This year, we welcomed 20 bright, curious young women to our BMW Group DCM campus, where we organized an agenda packed with hands-on technology experiences. 🌟 My team proudly showcased our 3D car visualizer in VR (thanks Victoria Ivleva, Bernhard Meier!), which gave the girls a chance to experience automotive design in an immersive environment. 🥽 Besides VR, we had hacking of robotic 🤖 arms, the importance of our PRIDE 🌈 network, strategic communications, AIQX (our AI-powered quality control systems), interaction with our AI platform tools, and many more! One of the day's highlights was our fireside chat with women in leadership roles - Thuy Trang Le-Tran and Ulrike Stalze shared their journeys and insights with remarkable candor. The questions from these young women were both thoughtful and revealing. "What is the most important skill needed to become a leader?" showed their ambition and forward thinking. 💭 I was particularly struck by the question, "How can you be successful at work while being a mom?" - a concern one may have never heard directed at fathers in leadership positions, highlighting that stereotypes around women still exists (and if you would look back, we had a similar question also last year!) Their curiosity about "what does a typical day look like" reminds us how important it is to demystify technology careers and make them seem accessible rather than intimidating. The feedback wall at the end of the day warmed my ❤️ heart completely. Seeing "VR" written or drawn a couple of times made me realize we had truly made an impression! These events aren't just about showcasing technology - they're about planting seeds of possibility in young minds and exposing them to plethora of possibilities with a career in tech. 🌱 By creating hands-on experiences rather than just presentations, we help these young women envision themselves as future engineers, developers, and leaders. The enthusiasm and engagement we witnessed reinforces why these initiatives matter - we're not just filling quotas, we're actively shaping the future of innovation at BMW Group IT! 🚀 Thanks to the whole team of Azubis, internal committee members, speakers and supporters - Anna-Lena Scheunemann, Thuy Trang Le-Tran, Ulrike Stalze, Jean Hamilton, Victoria Ivleva, Bernhard Meier, Andreas Hoff and many more! Thank for reading this far and also watching the 2 minutes long video! What experiences have you had with mentoring the next generation of tech talent, and how do you think we can continue breaking down barriers for young women entering STEM fields? 🤔

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✈️ A new era of AI takes off What happens when one of the world’s leading aerospace and defense companies partners with IBM Consulting? A bold transformation that redefines internal operations, accelerates innovation, and sets a new standard for AI in mission-critical environments. Faced with data silos and increasing complexity, Lockheed Martin launched a large-scale AI transformation. Together with IBM, they built a scalable, secure AI ecosystem—streamlining their data landscape and enabling next-gen AI adoption across the enterprise. ✅ Key outcomes & insights: 🔗 Consolidated 46 systems into one unified data platform ⚙️ Reduced AI tools by 50% using IBM Cloud Pak for Data 🧠 +11% increase in response accuracy through prompt engineering The takeaway: Lockheed Martin’s transformation shows how AI can drive real, responsible business value—when powered by the right strategy, platform, and partner. IBM Consulting helped enable a future-ready foundation for agility, security, and innovation. 🔗 Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/e-2jyj7j #AI #Aerospace #LockheedMartin #watsonx #DataTransformation #CloudComputing #Innovation #Engineering #IBM #MachineLearning #DataScience #GenAI

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Nissan Motor Corporation is plotting where to take its much-delayed hybrid strategy next. Larger crossovers, including the Nissan Pathfinder and Murano and the INFINITI Motor Company’s QX60 and QX65, are “prime candidates for series- or parallel-hybrid technology and potentially plug-in hybrids,” said Ponz M. Pandikuthira, Nissan Americas’ product planning boss. “A parallel hybrid, where both the internal combustion engine and electric motor can power the wheels, so you have four-wheel drive, is not out of the question,” Pandikuthira said at a media event in late March at Nissan’s R&D center here, outside Tokyo. Nissan’s e-Power series-hybrid system, which uses an electric motor to drive a vehicle’s wheels and a gasoline engine to charge the battery, works well for the lighter Rogue and delivers all-wheel-drive performance. Pandikuthira said parallel-hybrid technology is better suited for heavier crossovers such as the Pathfinder and QX60.

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Stellantis, the parent company of 𝗙𝗶𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝘆𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗿, plans to invest more than $𝟱 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 in U.S. manufacturing plants. This includes $1.2 billion allocated to the 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲, Illinois plant for producing a new mid-size pickup truck, supporting 1,500 jobs. Additional investments will enhance facilities in 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗶𝘁, Michigan; 𝗧𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗼, Ohio; and 𝗞𝗼𝗸𝗼𝗺𝗼, Indiana, focusing on 𝗗𝗼𝗱𝗴𝗲 and 𝗝𝗲𝗲𝗽 models and 𝘃𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻��𝘀. These initiatives aim to strengthen Stellantis's U.S. manufacturing footprint and align with policies favoring internal combustion vehicles. #manufacturing #news #tech #industry40

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Gone But Never Forgotten: 15 Defunct U.S. Car Brands That Shaped Automotive History They built legends. They broke barriers. And though their logos have faded… their impact drives on. Major Defunct U.S. Car Brands: 1. Pontiac (1926–2010) • Owned by GM, known for performance models like the GTO, Firebird, and Grand Prix. 2. Oldsmobile (1897–2004) • One of the oldest U.S. car brands, also part of GM. Pioneered mass production before Ford. 3. Saturn (1985–2010) • GM’s attempt to compete with Japanese imports—known for plastic body panels and a “different kind of car company” ethos. 4. Plymouth (1928–2001) • Chrysler brand aimed at budget-conscious buyers. Known for cars like the Barracuda and Road Runner. 5. Mercury (1938–2011) • Ford’s mid-tier brand between Ford and Lincoln. Produced models like the Cougar and Grand Marquis. 6. Hummer (1992–2010, revived in 2020 as EV) • Initially a civilian version of the military Humvee. Shut down due to fuel inefficiency concerns, now revived as an EV sub-brand under GMC. 7. AMC (American Motors Corporation) (1954–1988) • Known for the Jeep brand (which was acquired by Chrysler), and quirky models like the Gremlin, Pacer, and AMX. 8. Studebaker (1852–1967) • Originally a wagon manufacturer; later produced memorable models like the Avanti and Champion. 9. Packard (1899–1958) • Known for luxury vehicles; merged with Studebaker in 1954 but faded out shortly after. 10. DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) (1975–1982) • Famous for the DMC-12 and its starring role in Back to the Future. Financial and legal issues led to collapse. 11. Hudson (1909–1954) • Merged with Nash to form AMC. Known for performance cars like the Hudson Hornet. 12. Nash (1916–1954) • Also merged to form AMC. Introduced innovative features like the first heating and ventilation system. 13. Kaiser-Frazer (1945–1953) • Post-WWII attempt to build cars outside the Big Three. Short-lived despite ambitious goals. 14. Eagle (1988–1998) • Chrysler’s response to import competition, inherited from AMC and aimed at younger buyers. 15. Duesenberg (1913–1937) • Synonymous with 1930s luxury and performance. “It’s a Duesy!” comes from this brand. #AutomotiveIndustry #CarCulture #AutoHistory #ClassicCars #AmericanMade #AutoInnovation #AutoLegends #OEMHistory #AutoBrands #AutomotiveLeadership #LinkedInAutoPros #MobilityLegacy #DetroitIron #RespectTheDrive #CarHeritage

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