By Glenn Stevens Jr.

The automotive industry is experiencing unprecedented change and innovation not seen since its birth over 120 years ago. Forces of change, from AI to electrification to fierce Chinese competition, are disrupting the industry from top to bottom.

What’s more, Michigan’s automotive and mobility companies face the complex challenge of meeting consumer demands today while developing and building the high-tech mobility solutions of tomorrow. This is occurring as automobiles and electrification have been politicized like never before and volatile federal trade policy puts our state and industry at disproportionate risk.

It’s a wildly precarious, unpredictable tight-rope walk with the highest possible stakes. It requires the entire state to rally behind its signature industry and provide stable policy that transcends politics and elections and positions companies in Michigan to make long-term investments without the ground shifting beneath their feet every few years.

To reach common ground and foster collaboration, MichAuto is hosting roundtable discussions with leaders from industry, government, labor, education, and economic development organizations across Michigan to build the MichAuto Automobility Policy Roadmap, a comprehensive strategic policy plan for the industry.

Insights from these discussions will help inform the development of a broader policy roadmap for Michigan’s automotive competitiveness. The roadmap will outline strategies to better align workforce development, economic development, infrastructure investment, and public policy to support continued innovation and manufacturing leadership in Michigan.

Michigan has extraordinary strengths, and our automotive industry is the best tool we have to diversify and grow our economy. Our engineering talent, manufacturing expertise, and supplier network are unmatched. Yet, Michigan cannot expect to win the future of the industry on legacy alone.

As a trusted, nonpartisan industry champion, MichAuto is uniquely positioned to lead this crucial conversation and help author a policy roadmap that secures our signature industry for the next generation.

The path forward is clear: unite and collaborate, or be left behind in the industry we created.

Glenn Stevens Jr. Is Executive Director of MichAuto and the Chief Automotive and Innovation Officer of the Detroit Regional Chamber.

Learn about the initiative.