Kent Bovellan, the Chief Engineer and Head of the Vehicle Architecture Center for Geely Holding, the Hangzhou, China headquartered global automotive group, was debating the platform choice for an upcoming "D" segment midsized battery electric vehicle (BEV). He had led the architectural development of the new Geely SEA platforms for its new family of BEVs. The new car would be part of the Zeekr premium lineup. He knew that smaller cars on a given platform inevitably suffered from costs problems, while larger vehicles suffered from less than premium attributes.They could emphasize meeting cost targets on the low end, but that might have a negative impact on the high end. Which platform should they choose? This case explores the platforms and derivatives atrategies used by global auto manufacturers, and some of the changes wrought by the shift from internal combustion vehicles to battery electric. It emphasizes the importance of achieving volume and scale in reaching competitive costs and selling prices, and offers an opportunity to explore the potential impact of open standards and modular interchangability on the structure of the industry.
On June 30, 2021, ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing (Didi) raised $4.4 billion in its initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the largest IPO of a Chinese company listed on an American exchange since Alibaba raised $25 billion in 2014. Celebration was short-lived. Two days after its IPO, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), a government agency that regulates China's internet platforms, launched a national security probe into Didi's network security and ordered a comprehensive cybersecurity review. Didi did not just end Uber's presence in China. With Uber gone, Didi's growth skyrocketed to become the largest online ride-hailing platform globally. How did everything change? Under Chinese President Xi Jinping, private companies faced emboldened regulators and increased government oversight. Was Didi's decision to move ahead with its IPO the correct business decision but the wrong political decision? What lessons could other Chinese tech companies learn from Didi's experience? How could Didi maintain its market position and rehabilitate its relationship with the Chinese government while local competitors tasted blood in the water?
This note reviews the evidence that the world is undergoing an era of de-globalization. It shows that available metrics show some support for this theory. However there is also evidence that what is happening might be better described as regionalization. The nature of globalization is also changing with digitalization and a de-linking of globalization and Americanization. The note continues by an examination of four factors which have slowed or else redefined global economic integration in recent years: terrorism, the global financial crisis of 2008/9, the growth of populism; and geopolitical rivalry between China and the United States. The note ends by outlining four alternative future scenarios. They are a return to globalization as known in the past; widespread national autarky as in the 1930s; intensified regionalization with each regional block anchored by a major economic power; and full-scale military conflict replicating the first half of the twentieth century.
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