Edmund Hain, Managing Director, Business Consulting Network International

December 6, 2010. The demand for automobiles is much more volatile than before. Flexibility is key in this new world of broad fluctuations—flexibility by managers who must identify international market trends at a very early stage and flexibility by employees who must work more in peak times and postpone their vacation. And by supply chains, which must smoothly and flexibly accommodate every market fluctuation. Add to the mix a growing diversity of models and options and severe price pressure in the face of stagnating or declining new car sales. The result: an industry in upheaval with rampant mergers and takeovers. More and more trade groups are forming, with a variety of brands from various corporations at many different locations.