2017 experienced a sharp decrease in the number of vehicles sold for US automakers, putting an end to seven years of sales growth. Despite this drop, PVMI director John Paul MacDuffie asserts that “it was a strong year,” as electric cars and autonomous vehicle are on the rise. The industry must now take on several strategic dilemmas, says MacDuffie, with lingering questions and concerns about future policies, technological capabilities, and performance levels of electric and autonomous vehicles.
In an interview with the Knowledge@Wharton, MacDuffie discusses the outlook for the U.S. auto industry in 2018.