Yanfeng Auto Interiors CEO expects strong gains from autonomous vehicles

The auto industry's accelerating move to self-driving cars means that the vehicle is about to become another living and working space for people on the move. Yanfeng Automotive Interiors CEO Johannes Roters sees this shift as a "huge opportunity" for his company, but he knows YFAI cannot succeed without help from a growing number of partners. He explained why in an interview with Automotive News Europe Managing Editor Douglas A. Bolduc.

How is YFAI dealing with the move toward autonomous cars?

Autonomous driving gives us huge opportunities because we're talking about the next living space. This living space needs functions and connections. Also, if the car runs itself, all of a sudden you have more time available. Then the question is, what will you do with the time.

How are these changes beneficial to your business?

These changes are helping our business because the interior will become a differentiator. This will be true for private cars as well as car-sharing fleets and robotaxis.

What challenges come with this shift?

If you look at the interior, you cannot do this all by yourself. You need to be connecting technologies because the changes are extremely fast in today's world. A good solution is creating partnerships so you can bring different values together to create a new value. An example of this is the module we are doing together with [German mechatronic supplier] Kostal. They have the switch technology. We have the surface technology. We call this new-generation product the YaKoMo [short for Yanfeng Kostal module]. We see this collaboration reinforcing our position as an integrator for the interior. We are putting a bigger emphasis on partnerships.

What about safety concerns?

New questions regarding security and safety will need to be answered. First, we need to know where the person is in the car. We have a camera system as part of our partnership with IEE to determine where the people are in the vehicle. For questions about the future seats and airbags we are working with our partners Adient and Autoliv. A big question is whether the airbag will come out of the seat or the ceiling. With our concept car, we are raising several questions, and these questions need answers if we want to move toward fully autonomous driving.

How does your latest concept car, the XiM17, help answer those questions?

Our concept is a huge step forward, but we can also have steps in between like both seats moving backwards and rear seats that fold down. The cockpit has a big screen as well as smart surfaces because your connection to the information needs to move with you. When we talk about the e-car technology where the transmission is gone then we have space available. This is an opportunity for us to create this new living space.

How much from the XiM17 can already go into next-generation cars?

The model that we're showing is based on products for the next generation and beyond. Right now, 60 percent of the products are ready for next-generation cars, and 30 to 40 percent for further in the future. The industrialization for some of the components is ongoing. It is very important for us to have a good mix between visionary products and current products because we still need to succeed in our day-to-day business.

How are your order books?

They are good. We are launching new factories around the world.

Will you add jobs?

Yes and no. The move to Industry 4.0 will change manufacturing. The machines producing parts on the floor are smart. Therefore, more machines will be used. Do we foresee forklift drivers in the factory in the next 10 years? No. The forklifts will be autonomous. As a result, the global search to find the cheapest labor will end. If you are using these new technologies, it will be more attractive to produce in a higher-cost country than it will be to move to a low-cost country. These are radical changes on the manufacturing side.

Should your employees be worried?

People are scared about these changes. They don't know what it will mean. The only weapon we can give them is training, apprenticeships and education. We will need a different workforce in the future. It is not the same workforce as in the 1970s.

How has the industry changed of the last few years?

For a long time, this industry was very consistent. A model came, then a new model came. Perhaps there were more safety features or other new extras. Now, we need e cars, we need even more connectivity and autonomous driving is on the way. This industry is reinventing itself.

Are you worried young people will have a different relationship to the car?

When I was 18 I said, "I need a car." For me, a car meant freedom. It took me from point A to point B. When I talk to my daughters they say, "Why do I need a car?" They don't see the car as their freedom. For example, my youngest daughter, who lives in Berlin, tells me, "Dad, I can rent a car here. I have an app that tells me there is a vehicle 500 meters from my apartment. I get the car. I use the car for an hour. Then I park the car wherever I want to leave it." It still gets her from point A to point B but she places a different level of importance on the car. This is happening everywhere. To them, the car is a very different device. It still moves them from place to place but it is becoming a living space in your life.

Does the arrival of non-traditional brands that are looking to create autonomous-driving pods provide new opportunities for suppliers such as YFAI?

In the past, it was very difficult to enter the automotive market. You needed expertise on engines, transmissions and the other traditional technology. This is changing. It's much easier now and we see that.

You don't care if you sell to Google or Daimler or Company X, right?

Interiors are our core competence and so is mobility. Experience and motion are blending together. We want to be part of this.

How do you feel about the growing power of Silicon Valley in the auto industry?

Silicon Valley is a global melting pot where people come together to work on challenges that are affecting people around the world. How can we change things? What can we do? What can we do here? They're connecting and make changes.

How are you keeping your employees motivated?

It is one of the biggest challenges: How we get the employees excited about the future, because not everyone is ready for this. Naturally, the older employees are more concerned than younger generations. The younger ones on the shop floor are at home working with computers. They love it. The older ones say, "My job just disappeared." So, it's a different situation.

How have the changes inspired you and perhaps forced you to change your own way of doing business?

In China, you have new automakers entering the market with new visions. They are hungry to do things differently. I've been based in Asia for six years and what impresses me is the hunger of the people. They have a strong willingness to bring this passion forward.

The Brexit vote seemed to be partially inspired by a desire to return to the way things were in the past. Does that concern you?

You cannot bring the old times back. It's simply not possible. The reality is that we're here today. What's driving this desire is fear and resistance to change. What helps people overcome this is education. Knowledge gives you the chance to determine, what does this change mean for me? The better-educated people will handle the changes.