This paper aims at identifying and comparing projects of product and process development accomplished by two mature and a newcomer automaker considering the context of the supply chains to which they belong. For that, case studies were carried out in three automakers and eight suppliers. Most of the companies studied are responsible for production process projects. In the mature companies, such projects take place almost without any external support (only with a sporadic support of their international headquarters), possibly because the production technology is already consolidated and susceptible only to incremental changes, and because the competences needed for such improvements have already been locally developed. In the newcomer companies, once the production processes have just been set up, the Brazilian branch has been responsible for a few changes implemented since then. Concerning the suppliers, changes in the production process tend to be less complex and, in most cases, these companies can count on the automakers’ support. Automakers pay especial attention to product design. The mature companies have already accomplished important local developments, and the newcomers have planned to improve their product development department to start local developments and, mainly, to nationalize their suppliers. Regarding the auto-suppliers, the results indicate that the required levels of technological capability for product development tend to vary according to the technological segments of the automotive supply chains. In the metalworking segment, the suppliers can either receive the product design already specified from the automakers or design projects according to the client demands. In the electronics segment, the suppliers already have the technology and, so they develop components and parts that the automakers simply add to their products. Polymeric suppliers seem to have an intermediate level of products technology knowledge compared to the metalworking and electronics segments.
Development projects (products and processes); Automotive engines; Supply chains; Automotive industry
