• How far and how fast should we go with electrification: With petroleum sales figures trumping electric, what will make the next ten years different?
• The Autonomous Reality: A honest conversation on scalability, timelines, regulatory, legal and ethical hurdles and what isneeded to shift societies views
• Make a breakthrough on cybersecurity: Cybersecurity risk poses huge if not lifelong threats to your organization, tacklesecurity head on, to ensure together we wipe away threats to society
• Silicon Valley VS Detroit: What is the true ambition for Apple, Amazon, Alibaba, Tencent and Google? A debate on their role inthe industry and what the future could hold
• The Customer-Centric OEM: What does it take to deliver the ‘Amazon Effect’ in automotive? The digital customerjourney of 2025 and what this means for the consumer driving experience
• Does Design need to change? Is the “world car” – one vehicle designed to sell in many markets generatingeconomies of scale – a dead concept? Or just one that must evolve?
• Dealership Disruption: How much ownership do OEM now take across the selling experience?
• Is Consolidation inevitable? As we see FCA and PSA combining. Is that enough? What will the structure of the global industry bein ten years? What will it take for investors to trust legacy car makers with capital?
• Are you a technology or service provider? We have only one keynote opportunity available reserved for the tech innovators. Get in touchfor more information manni.pattar@thomsonreuters.com

Access the latest information, breaking news and industry headlines with our exclusive Reuters Editorial Interviews. Joe White himself will be taking to the online stage to deep dive into the current industry updates with these inspiring leaders:

• Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management, Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG
• Carlos Tavares, Chairman of the Managing Board, PSA Groupe
• Joe White, Global Automotive Industry Editor, Reuters
• Mark Reuss, President, General Motors Company

*Please note: This interview is conducted by Reuters editorial, which operates independently from the Reuters commercial operations. Reuters journalists have the sole right to determine who they interview and the questions they ask, with no regard to sponsorship and in keeping with the Trust Principles of integrity, independence and freedom from bias.

Consumers lifestyles are now dominated by digital interactions and personalized offerings so buying a car should be no different. In this session, we look at how digital tech can add value to the vehicle buying process and enhance revenues.

• Virtual showrooms, build your own and digital vehicle exploration
• The power of AI to automate the consumer buying process
• How AR/VR will impact customer interactions and other digital trends impacting automotive retail
• How far will digital take over? And what is the new role of the brick & mortar showrooms

Like all marketing efforts today, incentive discounts need to be personalized to each customer to be their most effective. However, this requires knowing which incentive is going to bring each customer in: Why should the same incentive apply to everyone if the data tells us that different amounts will bring different customers in? Learn how to optimize your incentive spend while better meeting – even predicting – individual customer needs in our conversation with AutoAlert’s Chief Revenue Officer, Jim Huston.

Automotive retail is undergoing huge shifts towards digitalization and prioritizing customer experience. With COVID-19 accelerating digital adoption, this discussion is now more than ever as important.

In this panel we will look at the future of automotive retail and dealership strategy.

• What does the future relationship look like? Transform and modernize the retail experience
• Shopper Journey: How can we create a seamless online and offline vehicle-buying customer experience
• How far will digital take over? And what is the new role of the brick & mortar showrooms

A reduction in visits to dealerships has highlighted a change across consumer buying-behaviour. With statistics highlighting year-on-year drop-offs, it is crucial for OEMs and dealerships to work together to reshape the vehicle-buying process.

• Digitalize your digital dealership model: With COVID-19 accelerating digital adoption, consumers are now more than ever ready for a seamless vehicle buying process
• Partnerships are key: How can OEMs and dealerships work together to build one 360-degree view of consumers purchasing needs and transform the sales process
• This session will set the vision, push boundaries, and get you thinking about how automotive retail will look by 2030 and how your role will play a key role in delivery

The evolution of the auto industry has been accelerated dramatically, with more and more of the car buying experience shifting online. This presentation will provide 3 tips for auto marketers to fast-track their plans to compete for consideration and win sales in this new digital era.

There is an explosion of devices, channels, tech and platforms in the marketplace. How do you identify your customers inside this maze? How do you keep track of their activities and the journey throughout the funnel?

Individuals are gradually becoming more and more distinct in terms of their own paths to purchase and getting more uniquely distinct with the growth of many more channels and alternative pathways to the shopping experience. The moment you lose track of them every dollar you spend towards acquiring them is really another wasted dollar.

This session dives into the four important principles to keep in mind when you're designing a digital real identity management system which ultimately acts as the glue holding these ecosystems together while creating a holistic customer view.

With B2C organisations including Amazon and Adidas delivering an omni-channel, seamless and frictionless experience OEMs must collaborate with dealerships to modernize the buying process. In this session we will discuss:

• How to identify the key touchpoints for human vs digital interaction and integrate offline and online sales touchpoints with the consumer
• Leverage data and insights, roll out new technology, embrace automation and integrate new systems to communicate with your customers from pre-sale to post-sale on a deeper level
• Omnichannel architecture:  create the right framework to deliver an omnichannel ecommerce experience

With 2030 goals focused on high growth of EVs on the roads, shared business models and every vehicle connected, OEMs must collaborate with dealerships to develop a new strategy to promote and educate on the changing vehicle and mobility solutions

• How the vehicle buying process must educate on electrification and support the sales of electric cars
• How Mobility as a Service could create new offerings for dealership and education dealerships of these new opportunities
• Educate and Experience – work closely with consumers to build an educational framework to build trust in the future of autonomous vehicles and create a mindset shift within society

Electric vehicles have been the future since the early 1900s – but petroleum has won because it is cheap, easily transportable and delivers more energy per pound of weight and per dollar of cost than EV batteries, by far.  In this session, we will delve into four key hurdles that must be overcome

What will make the next ten years different?

• Investment and Prioritization: Debate conflicting automotive views and strategies to determine how fast industry leaders should be prioritising electrification above other C.A.S.E efforts, has Volkswagen or FCA got it right?
• Consumer Perception: How can OEMs create a love for EVS? With limited choice and higher costs, what are the next steps to delivering EVS to a mass market?
• Infrastructure: How can we make EV charging technology accessible for all consumers? In order to commercialise EVS we must address what infrastructure is needed to give access to all consumers whether living in flats or suburbs
• Who will pay? Even when charging infrastructure is standardized, this discussion will address the important question of who will pay.

Are Heartland Americans ready for an electric pickup truck? As billions of dollars are invested into electrification will we see the impact needed to transform the industrial mobility market. In this session we will expand on the challenges to electrifying a market segment that is hugely profitable just as it is.

The proliferation of ridesharing, electrification and autonomous vehicles has created a need to redesign the interior of a vehicle. Yet, when we look at the interior cabin of today’s vehicle, the HVAC and thermal management approach has only seen minor incremental changes over the last 50 years.

In this session, we will showcase how you can improve the passenger experience and meet the demands of tomorrows consumer, learn how to:

• Meet industry electrification goals while creating a passenger experience that will meet the demands of electric, rideshare and autonomous vehicles.
• Deliver a microclimate system that break boundaries between what is and what is possible to create personalized comfort while reducing significant vehicle energy consumption by up to 69%.
• Tailor and individualized thermal comfort needs including self-regulating thermal devices, interior surface heating, neck warming, footwell heating, steering wheel heating, seat climatization, mini compressor, liquid cooling and more.
• Reduce CO2 output by 3.7 billion kg per year through the latest Climate Control Seat.

As we race towards electrification, ensure you factor in the entire supply chain of electric cars beyond emissions. How far should OEMs invest across the entire vehicle life cycle to create world change from cobalt to battery recycling to sustainable vehicle materials?

Autonomous vehicle will become a reality, but when is still questionable. Questions persist around timelines, consolidation or rationalisation and four key factors in the way of creating a society ready for self-driving cars. In this session, we will delve into four key hurdles that must be overcome 

• Capital and Engineering: An overview on how far and how fast we should deploy resources into speeding up the autonomous journey, does this require OEM consolidation or can we get there alone?
• Regulatory & legal: Collaborate with cities to overcome the regulatory and legal boundaries to put autonomous vehicles at the heart of the smart city
• Technology Innovation: An overview on the latest tech innovations bridging the gap between human and robotic capabilities
• Social Change: How will we build a trusted society and influence public perception to embrace and support the road to autonomy?
• COVID-19 and Innovation: How COVID has accelerated the need for delivery AVS, emphasising the value of contactless delivery solutions for today and tomorrow. Another step to bridge the gap between human and robotic capabilities

As we look towards the future of automotive mobility, we’re seeing increasing requirements for higher levels of driver automation, immersive in-vehicle experiences and a growing trend towards electrification. Accelerating the deployment of the next-generations of vehicles will require the automotive industry to work together to understand the key challenges and requirements for these future systems.

• Advanced driving capabilities are taking us to higher levels of driving automation but what are the key challenges that must be addressed to reach the next levels of autonomy?
• With rapid innovations, how can the necessary safety requirements be met to help accelerate the deployment of the next generation of vehicles? 
• How can the industry keep pace with the growing demands to deliver richer, more immersive in-cabin experience?

The average car spends 90% of its life parked (RAC Foundation), with vehicle owner costs soaring, does it make sense to own a vehicle that is not used? How fast should OEMs be adapting current business models to consumer lifestyles? As analysts forecast a movement towards mobility as critical, yet car sales don’t show many signs of dying down, how can you navigate changing consumer lifestyles whilst maintaining current business model growth?

• Discuss the possibilities for the future of shared ownership including subscriptions services and transportation on demand
• How much should OEMs expand their business portfolio towards new mobility models and what does it need to be profitable? Is this an opportunity for OEM partnerships to share the risk?
• Determine the right mobility solution for you: The Pros and Cons of models including car sharing, car rentals and subscription models and identifying which aligns best to your business goals and customer needs
• Learn what new business models are emerging as consumer needs and behavior change due to COVID-19
• Learn how the shared mobility principles can be applied to bring no-contact services, and how they can be used to make access to vehicles much simpler than ownership and lease programs are today.
• Learn how vehicle utilization in new mobility services drives profitability and which techniques to use to achieve the highest utilization rates.

In 2020, we are expected to see more than 381 million connected cars on the road (KPMG) making the connected car one of the most talked about topics this year. As the connected car evolves it continues to play core role in the future of consumer experience, autonomous driving and safety.

In this session, we will bring together leading connectivity experts to discuss;:

• Connectivity’s Role in The Future of Car: Vehicles: Connectivity is the enabler to advance vehicle safety, in this session we will discuss the latest advanced in connectivity to deliver safer roads
• Connectivity’s Role in Experience: How connectivity is shaping customers and delivering the ultimate experience
• Embrace OTA to Maintain Performance and Safety: See how to leverage OTA as an essential tool for maintaining the performance and safety of vehicle systems across its entire lifecycle.
• Data Ownership, Management and Monetization: With automakers, telecom operators, insurers and tech giants all battling for data, how can OEMs navigate this battle?
• The Latest In-Vehicle Infotainment Practices: Deliver the ultimate driving experience, and improve safety.

As we review the road to autonomous driving, we must consider what factors play a critical role in autonomous development and progress. In this session we will discuss the technology and innovation taking place to deliver safer roads and progress L2-L3 and beyond

• Creating Safer Roads: Deliver solutions to protect drivers and improve the driving experience. This session will delve into the features and in-vehicle sensors that are advancing vehicle safety.
• Technology: Hear how AI is paving the way for autonomous progression - a view on how AI will impact and support your autonomous journey and the best practices of implementation
• Innovation: Stay updated on how OEMs are progressing L2-L3 and beyond and the latest developments to improve passenger safety.
• Connectivity: The role of connectivity to dramatically increase the progress from L2-L3 and beyond.

If we were starting from the beginning, a blank sheet of paper, how would we envision the car of today and tomorrow? The automotive industry has been known to move slower, whilst tech giants can innovate overnight. In this session Chief Design Officers set out their plans to redesign the vehicle we know today.

• Have we become too settled in car design? A debate on concepts, design and a fresh perspective on the car of tomorrow
• Is the “world car” – one vehicle designed to sell in many markets generating economies of scale – a dead concept? Or just one that must evolve?
• Electrification offers abundant opportunities to redesign vehicles, explore new design and material opportunities focused on performance and user experience
• As autonomy develops, hear the impact this will have on design as we move from a driver environment to a work, lifestyle, entertainment space