Organizations in the automotive and related industries such as steel, plastics, and semiconductors have been heavily influenced by automotive industry standards and practices like IATF 16949, advanced product quality planning (APQP), failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), and production parts approval process (PPAP). These are collectively called “Core Tools” and include measurement system analysis (MSA) and statistical process control (SPC).

During the last 10 years, a significant number of new technologies has been introduced in automobiles, including autonomous breaking, auto lane change, adaptive cruise control vision systems, and various sensor-operated alerts. Soon, more than 50 percent of a new car’s value will be found in its electronics (i.e., semiconductors) and software (see figure 1).

Figure 1: Automotive electronics cost as a percentage of total car cost worldwide from 1950 to 2030

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