State of Suppliers

How Delphi Automotive beat the odds in vast corporate turnaround

Delphi Automotive may be based in suburban Detroit, but to understand the company's turnaround, consider it a company without borders. For tax purposes, Delphi is incorporated in the United Kingdom. The company's once-vast network of U.S. factories is nearly gone, replaced by a growing network of plants in China, Mexico and eastern Europe.... Read More »

M-B purchasing boss wants to tap emerging markets

Klaus Zehender, vice president of procurement for Mercedes-Benz cars and vans, aims to buy more parts in emerging markets and to encourage suppliers in those markets to export to Western countries.... Read More »

UAW turns up the heat on Flex-N-Gate

Tthe UAW and its allies used the NFL draft to turn up a corporate campaign and organizing drive directed at the new owner of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, Shahid Khan, who also owns U.S. auto supplier Flex-N-Gate.... Read More »

Delphi rebirth began with slash-and-burn bankruptcy

Delphi's painful slog through Bankruptcy Court took four years -- but that's where its turnaround began.... Read More »

New boss shifts Jatco into growth gear

Shortly after taking the helm at Japanese transmission maker Jatco Ltd., new President Takashi Hata -- an outsider with no automotive experience -- dropped a bombshell on his r&d unit. Develop a fuel-efficient transmission that costs half the current level and have the new product ready for market by 2018.... Read More »

Auto companies scramble for engineers

As the auto industry rebounds, automakers and suppliers are competing for engineering talent, sending salaries climbing.... Read More »

Feds test vehicle-to-vehicle safety net

This month, the industry will start finding out whether the Next Big Thing in safety is vehicle-to-vehicle communications. In Ann Arbor, Mich., a consortium of automakers, suppliers, federal officials and academics are preparing to launch a fleet of 3,000 vehicles equipped with transmitters that will broadcast their locations to one another.... Read More »

For supplier innovation, team speed is crucial

Auto suppliers have until Sept. 7 to apply for the 2013 Automotive News PACE Awards. Innovation is increasingly important to suppliers and to the industry as automakers struggle with numerous challenges.... Read More »

Merging smartphone, autos is a slow process

General Motors took about a year to scout offerings and develop, test and integrate BringGo, an application that will display maps on the Chevy MyLink infotainment system's touch screen. That's lightning fast in the automotive realm -- and glacial by app developer standards.... Read More »

Early bet on China pays off for Delphi

Two decades ago, Delphi bet early -- and big -- on the China market, and that investment is paying off.... Read More »