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Center for Automotive Research - CAR

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Center for Automotive Research - CAR

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We are a non-profit research org that informs and advises through independent research and education.

10/15/2026

CAR’s latest research reveals a market shift driven by much more than just the MSRP.

While inflation-adjusted vehicle prices are up only 8% since 2002, the affordability equation has fundamentally changed:

📉 The share of new models affordable to the median household dropped from 55% in 2019 to just 29% in 2024.

📈 The top 20% of earners now account for a record 55% of all new vehicle spending.

💡 Ownership costs (insurance, repairs, financing) and competing household expenses are creating the real squeeze—even as today's vehicles become safer, more efficient, and more advanced.

The takeaway: Vehicle affordability is a multidimensional challenge with no single fix.

Read the full report and explore what this means for the future of the U.S. automotive market: https://www.cargroup.org/publication/vehicle-affordability/

10/14/2026

The automotive industry is under increasing pressure to improve margins, manage complexity, and build resilience.

Join CAR and IBM for The Margin Engine: Smarter Lifecycle Management for a More Resilient Automotive Industry on October 29 at 1:00 PM EDT.

Explore how connected data, digital tools, and smarter lifecycle strategies can help automotive organizations:

🔹 Make faster, more informed decisions
🔹 Reduce risk and improve efficiency
🔹 Capture greater value across the product lifecycle
🔹 Build resilience in a changing industry

📅 October 29 | 1:00 PM EDT
💻 Live Webinar

👉 Register now: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5i3kTwi4Rv-aXn2fEr71YA #/registration

10/09/2026

🗓️ Save the Date: MBS 2027, May 24–26, 2027 at Saint John’s Resort in Plymouth, Michigan!

The automotive industry continues to evolve, and MBS 2027 will bring industry leaders together to examine what’s next through objective research, executive insights, and open conversation.

Join us on May 25 for a full day of programming centered on the trends, challenges, and decisions shaping the future of automotive leadership. MBS will also feature pre- and post-event activities, workshops, networking opportunities, and experiences throughout May 24–26.

Mark your calendar and plan to join us in Plymouth. We look forward to bringing the industry together for MBS 2027!

10/06/2026

North American automotive tooling is easy to overlook until a critical capability is no
longer available.

CAR’s new white paper, Rebuilding North American Tooling: Risk, Resiliency, and a New
Economic Model, examines the condition of the tooling industry that supports vehicle
launches, redesigns, and production across North America.

A few findings stand out:

- U.S. metalworking machinery employment has declined 46% since 1990.
- Imports now account for approximately 37% of U.S. domestic consumption, up
from about 20% in 1989.
- The U.S. tool-and-die workforce declined 22.7% from 2009 to 2025, while the
average worker age increased from 49 to 54.

The challenge goes beyond price. CAR’s research finds that North America’s tooling
economic model is no longer competitive with China’s. Rebuilding capability will require
changes in capital access, sourcing and payment practices, workforce development,
advanced manufacturing, digitalization, and regional coordination.

This is not about eliminating global sourcing. It is about ensuring North America retains the critical capabilities needed to launch, maintain, repair, and adapt its manufacturing base.

Read the full white paper: https://www.cargroup.org/publication/rebuilding-north-american-tooling/

If your organization is evaluating tooling exposure, manufacturing capacity, reshoring
opportunities, or supply-chain risk, CAR can help bring independent research and
customized analysis to those questions.

10/02/2026

Beyond the AI Hype: What’s Next for Automotive?

In this month’s CAR Momentum, we take a closer look at how AI is moving from hype to practical applications across the automotive industry.

From real-world AI use cases and procurement to data challenges, workforce needs, U.S.-China competitiveness, and the impact of uncertainty on investment, this month’s issue explores where AI is creating value and where challenges remain.

📖 Read this month’s Momentum: https://www.cargroup.org/momentum-september-2026-automotive-use-cases-ai/

09/28/2026

The industry that perfected optimization has officially run out of silos. ⚙️

For decades, automotive excellence has lived inside functional units like supply chain, quality, and procurement. But with software-defined vehicles changing the game, the next frontier of growth isn't local—it's horizontal.

In the latest feature for The Pulse, IBM explores why closing the gap with new global benchmarks requires a total shift toward end-to-end enterprise workflows, policy reform, and agentic AI.

Read the full article here: https://www.cargroup.org/beyond-the-silo/

09/24/2026

In a recent Detroit Free Press story, Elizabeth Krear, President & CEO of the Center for Automotive Research, discussed the broader forces behind China’s growing automotive competitiveness:

“China’s advantage is not simply lower costs, it is the result of a deliberate strategy built on scale, subsidies, supply-chain control, speed, excess capacity and global sales ambition.”

These factors are at the center of CAR’s latest white paper, China’s Automotive Surge: The Six ‘S’ Framework Underpinning China’s Global Competitiveness. The research examines the interconnected forces shaping China’s position in the global automotive industry, including Set Up, Supply Chain, Speed, Saturation, Subsidies, and Sales.

📰 Read the Detroit Free Press article:
https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2026/09/15/center-for-automotive-reasearch-in-michigan-gave-40-people-rides-in-a-chinese-car/91584327007/

📄 Read CAR’s white paper:
https://www.cargroup.org/publication/chinas-automotive-surge/

Explore CAR’s latest research to better understand the competitive forces reshaping the global automotive industry.

09/21/2026

🚨 Tomorrow!

Business as usual is no longer enough for sourcing and procurement.

Join us tomorrow as we continue the conversation from MBS on integrating engineering, AI, and sourcing strategies to navigate what many organizations are facing today: constant change and "certain uncertainty."

Hear from industry leaders as they discuss how organizations can make smarter decisions, better respond to commodity price volatility, strengthen the connection between engineering and sourcing, and develop more proactive strategies for the future.

Join the conversation and explore the best practices and emerging research shaping the future of sourcing and procurement.

📅 Tomorrow, September 22, 2026
🕙 10:00 AM ET

🔗 Register now and join the conversation: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RSi2s1ROQ86A0a4su_467g #/registration

09/18/2026

🗓️ Save the Date: MBS 2027, May 24–26, 2027 at Saint John’s Resort in Plymouth, Michigan!

The automotive industry is changing quickly. MBS 2027 will bring top industry leaders together for a focused look at what’s ahead, grounded in objective research, executive perspectives, and candid discussion.

Join us on May 25 for a full day of high-impact programming, focused on the issues and decisions that matter most to automotive leadership. MBS will include pre- and post-event activities, workshops, networking, and experiences throughout May 24-26.

Please save the date. We look forward to bringing the industry together in Plymouth.

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880 Technology Drive
Ann Arbor, MI
48108

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Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
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Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

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http://cargroup.org/

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