Alfa Romeo: Although Alfa Romeo has avoided the U.S. market for much of the last 2 decades, it’s back now. The admission of cheating ultimately cost the automaker tens of billions of dollars in fines and legal fees, making it one of the most expensive corporate scandals in history. Two points are key for automakers: 1) All of the disruptive forces dissected above — from circularity to the decline of the combustion engine and rising supplier power — will be accelerated by autonomy; and 2) For the first time, the auto industry will be subject to digital network effects, in turn, winner-take-all dynamics. The report says Chinese automakers are facing government pressure to expand business outside China by acquiring foreign companies.
Looking at deal count, Germany’s BMW was the most active automaker by a wide margin, with more than 30 disclosed investments since 2012, including 10 so far this year. …
