Automakers are pushing to shorten production schedules amid rising costs

The automobile industry is facing harsh conditions on a variety of fronts, including tariffs, supply chain shocks, resulting cost increases, competition with China, and uneven demand for EVs.

So when I walked into the New York Auto Show this week (I attended the expo for the third year in a row), I expected management to have a wide range of answers to the industry’s myriad challenges.

Instead, they all said the same thing: They are responding to these pressures with trunks full of AI.

That bet could dramatically change the way automakers design, build and sell vehicles. Most importantly, product development schedules can be disrupted and companies become more agile.

For decades, it was common for new vehicle development to take four to six years from design to production. That timeline is now too slow as companies seek to respond more quickly to capricious demand and global disruption.

For example, a Nissan executive says: They aim to significantly reduce development time — Targeting 36 months for new powertrains and approximately 30 months for vehicles built on the same platform.

“The lead time for development is several years, by anyone’s standards,” Eric LeDue, vice president of Nissan’s luxury car division Infiniti America, told Business Insider. “Shortening that cycle is really our goal.”

Hyundai executives said the company is working on a similar initiative, but declined to provide an exact timeline.

“People who are using AI today will be more efficient and effective with AI,” Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai Motor North America, told me. “The faster we work on it, the faster we can embrace it. I think that will allow us to be more efficient and get it to market faster.”

Executives at Toyota, Ford, and GM are all humming a similar song. Behind the show’s flashy product announcements — Chevrolet’s sleek Corvette concept, Hyundai’s rugged new SUV, Kia and Subaru’s EVs — executives all talked about a desire to find more efficient ways to get around.

So was everything on the Javits Center showroom floor., It flowed from there effort.

lots of collaborations

One way to move faster is to work together.

It typically costs more than $1 billion to bring a new car to market. Automakers are increasingly deciding not to do this alone.

Toyota and Subaru have partnered on EVs, and are currently selling or preparing to release four closely related models. Nissan’s Rogue plug-in hybrid is a rebadged version of the Mitsubishi Outlander. Ram’s ProMaster City cargo van shares key components with the Fiat Scudo sold in Europe.

“Another big trend that’s going to have a big impact on our industry is the need for consolidation,” said Pontu Pandiktila, Nissan and Infiniti’s chief product planning officer.

Pandikthira said Rogue Hybrid’s relationship with Mitsubishi is partly due to the newly compressed schedule.

“Costs are rising tremendously,” he added. “It doesn’t have to be a merger or a huge partnership. Just a joint project.”

He added that automakers with annual production of less than 5 million to 8 million vehicles may struggle to survive on their own.

Return of the sedan

For years, U.S. automakers have been steadily moving away from sedans, betting instead on higher-margin SUVs and trucks. Now, that calculus may be changing.

With consumer costs still rising, executives said they are reconsidering smaller, more affordable vehicles, including sedans, to reach out-of-market buyers.

There are also practical reasons. Sedans tend to be more aerodynamic than SUVs, making them better suited for EVs where efficiency is key.

And there may also be cultural changes.

“I think the younger generation wants a little bit of differentiation,” LeDew said, adding that SUVs and crossovers are “something mom and dad drive.”

So. many. light. bar.

One of the most noticeable design trends at the auto show was the rise of LED light bars, thin strips of light that span the front or rear of a vehicle.

And now some new cars (like the Genesis G90 Winback Concept and the redesigned VW Atlas) have two.

These have been around for a few years now, but they’re no longer just a concept car gimmick. They appear throughout the lineup.

Almost all Lincoln and Lucid models have these. It is also widely used by Hyundai, Ford, GM, Toyota, etc.

What was once a futuristic flourish is quickly becoming the norm.

It costs money to appear

Presentations at the New York Auto Show don’t come cheap. Multiple executives told Business Insider that they spend seven figures (and in some cases eight figures) to exhibit at events.

This cost is changing how and where automakers unveil their biggest vehicles.

Infiniti unveiled its next 2027 SUV, the QX65, at a solo event featuring former NFL stars Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, days before media previews began. Volkswagen unveiled the redesigned 2027 Atlas at its warehouse the day before the Javits Center opened to the press.

New entrants are also opting out. Slate, the electric truck startup backed by Jeff Bezos, showed off its vehicles at a small store about a mile from the convention center.

“Auto shows used to be the only place to show cars,” LeDue said. It is now being published in various places.

Other executives said that even after complaining about the costs, there was still a return from the show.

clear winner

Amid all the talk about supply chains, geopolitical risks, and the industry’s uncertain future, I asked one quick question during my six interviews.

If you could take home a car from the show floor instead of your company’s car, what would it be?

Bentley was the clear favorite to win. Four executives chose the luxury brand, two of whom cited the Flying Spur sedan.

All asked for anonymity when naming their rivals.

Several other standout models were selected, with Chevrolet’s mid-engine Corvette and Hyundai’s body-on-frame Boulder Concept each taking home awards.