Shift to semi-autonomous cars
Introduction
The continually growing development in technology has led to significant inventions in motor vehicles causing major changes in how society is as a whole. Recent technological developments have been in the transportation industry where the autonomous vehicle development has become a focus of many motor vehicle industries in a bid to keep with the growing technology. Every company is trying to stay at the top of the development of self-driving vehicles in order to stay relevant in the market as most people have become curious to explore autonomous vehicle transportation. They are quickly gaining popularity, and in no time, they may soon dominate the transport sector. Some of the companies developing these technologies are disruptors making it necessary for the companies affected by the disruptions to establish strategies that to ensure that they are not negatively affected by the disruptors. Further details on this issue are as discussed below.
Superior strategy
The most superior strategy in this autonomous vehicle race is the borrowing strategy, which will entail collaboration with the companies that are disruptors in order to work developing the technology jointly, without negatively affecting each other’s development (Muoio, 2017). The major disruptors in the autonomous car industry like Waymo, Uber, and Tesla seem to be having the upper hand over the other companies in the industry. This places the three disruptors at a higher competitive advantage over the other players in the industry. It would, therefore, be prudent if the other industries that were going against them to establish ways to create collaborations with each other to maintain their relevance in the market. Partnerships will help the organizations develop strong portfolios of their products as well as share their technology and develop better products leading them to gain a competitive advantage in the market.
Top companies
The companies I think will end up at the top of the industry in this particular race for autonomous vehicles include Uber Waymo and Tesla. This is because the three companies have developed their autonomous technology systems to a far more advanced level compared to the other players in the industry. While the other companies working towards developing their technologies to reach the levels of uber, Tesla, and Waymo, the three also keep advancing and developing their systems into getting better and better. These companies are more likely to end up at the top because, unlike the traditional auto companies that are focused more on bringing the partial automation, level 3, and 4 to the market, they are focused more on moving directly to the full automation, level 5. These disruptors are also creating collaborations with some of the biggest companies in the market, like the car manufacturers, giving them a chance to acquire knowledge and expertise regarding these technologies faster. Tesla has a higher chance of leading in the industry because it has already collected enough information that is critical, which will make it easier for it to upgrade to full automation when the time comes. Waymo’s ability to secure partnerships that are solid also gives it a better chance to be at the top of the industry.
These companies are disruptors from Silicon Valley, and their better chance of being leaders I the autonomous car industry is based on the fact that they have strategies that enable the continued advancements to the autonomous technologies, giving them a better understanding of the automation and gain a competitive advantage over the other companies. The companies in Silicon Valley have easy and ready access to the skillset in the autonomous systems, which will keep them a step higher than the other companies in the industry.
References
Muoio, D. (2017). Ranked: The 18 companies most likely to get self-driving cars on the road first. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/the-companies-most-likely-to-get-driverless-cars-on-the-road-first-2017-4
Wade, M. (2018). Silicon Valley is winning the race to build the first driverless car. International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Lozana, Švajcarska, February.