OEMs are facing new challenges to improve the existing technologies and develop next-generation ones for the new mobility in shorter times. Reducing market responding time along with new complexities are paving the way for virtual simulation, which displaces physical tests and prototypes by virtually replicating product development, testing and manufacturing with simulations. Emmanuel Leroy, Executive Vice-President Industry Solutions at ESI Group, explains, “We enable our customers to drastically reduce every additional physical prototype by using our solutions. In the end, only one physical prototype is required to validate the whole concept. We envision that one day we may be able to virtually certify a product from end to end.” Excerpts:

Q) How did the Covid impact the software and services businesses of ESI Group?

The Covid pandemic has accelerated the need for more digitalisation within the industrial market. It has also somehow accelerated the readiness level of our customers and made solutions such as virtual prototyping even more relevant. Indeed, we enabled the continuity of our clients’ business. The use of virtual prototyping allowed them to continue designing, testing and prototyping their products. Our human-centric approach – one of ESI Group’s four outcome solutions – was particularly used by our customers to ensure the continuity of their businesses: using virtual reality to experience the product from home.

During pandemic times, we also provided our CFD (computational fluid dynamic) solutions to help investigating different scenarios to demonstrate the effect of occupant proximity, ventilation systems and contamination avoidance unique to each office and plant environment. ESI Group developed different virtual scenario, based on its facilities in India, to optimise the return to offices and on plant – especially on a car assembly line.

How the growing complexity of part process is influencing the virtual testing?

We notice that the automotive industry is facing more and more draconian regulations, disruptive technologies, intensifying competitions and shortening response time. Coupled with these, customers are getting more demanding on quality, reliability, safety and production deadlines in the business. Indeed, end users are no longer looking for products but for results (flight hours instead of engines, number of possible kilometres instead of electric car, etc.) and they seek for committed and responsible automakers to motivate their buys. At ESI Group, we have understood these preoccupations and we have defined four primary solutions answering our customers’ expectations.

The first one is the Pre-certification and Validation, enabling gains in performance and productivity. The purpose is double: meeting certification and validation requirements like crash, safety and fatigue issues in the first attempt and then increasing productivity with predictive models and process automation.

The second outcome is Smart Manufacturing, which enables to establish the right manufacturing processes to meet the performance indicators for industrial products and processes.

The Human-Centric Product and Process Validation, our third outcome, focuses on humans by implementing an operator-centric approach to ensure the efficiency of assembly, maintenance operation and the safety of human interactions.

The last one, Pre-experience, is the most advanced solution of ESI Group. Here, our customers and the operators do not look at the product itself, but virtually experience a product, component, subsystem or system under numerous conditions and environments.

Using these approaches, we identify industry challenges from the customer’s perspective and support them in achieving their results.

Finally, as products are getting more complex, one of our strengths is our end-to-end multi-material assembly solution with modelling of different materials (steel, aluminum, composite) and manufacturing processes, covering all the product development cycle.

What will be the growth drivers for the internal combustion engine-driven vehicles business?

Safety is essential and will remain a key driver in the future. Today, the active safety is gaining traction owing to the regulations and overall trends. There is an increasing demand for smart integrated safety, which caters to both active and passive what?

Alongside there are regulations on Co2. In Europe, the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) Norm is challenging and will eventually be implemented in other countries. Regarding Co2 reduction, we focus part of our research and innovation around engine efficiency, aerodynamics and light-weighting, as we did with Bentley for instance.

OEMs are also looking to reduce the manufacturing cost and development time which are leading demand for virtual prototyping, digital twin and shifting OEMs’ investment from hardware to software. The end-to-end value and the digital continuity from the early design to the production is essential to achieve these goals.

OEMs are exploring possibilities to manufacture ICE vehicles and EVs on the same line. Being a solution provider for the smart manufacturing process, how do you see this as a challenge?

Some OEMs assemble EV and ICE vehicles on the same line and look for flexibility, while others use completely dissociated platforms. We, consequently, must find the right strategy regarding their requirements. The new upcoming challenges in CASE mobility manufacturing will bring even more complexities from components to manufacturing. We have to consider the complexity to train the operators: our virtual reality solutions are key here. We help our customers by providing training, on both ICE vehicles and EVs manufacturing processes to their team, even from different place around the world, gathered on the same interface. This solution gathers all stakeholders (from operators to QHSE officers and plant managers) around the same product. This immersive tool helps getting complementary feedbacks early on in the process.

Where do you find more competencies or comfortability — in the complete vehicle design or component design?

Clearly, we are positioning ourselves on the whole vehicle design as it gives the most significant benefit for the OEM and other customers. We are talking about an end-to-end value that we can demonstrate on full scale CAE demonstrators. When it comes to a standalone component, the complex interactions between components and environment are not well taken into account and can lead to reduced predictiveness. In this case, we come up with a holistic view of the problem itself. It is how we defined the four outcome solutions introduced earlier.

Do you think that virtual prototypes will, at a 100 percent, completely replace physical ones ?

Virtual prototypes are step by step replacing physical prototypes. Nevertheless, I think physical prototypes remain today essential to certify the product at the very end of the development phase. To give an example, in 2019 Renault succeeded a 5-star rating of its Clio 5 on the Euro NCAP safety certification test with a single physical prototype, the one needed for the consumer test. Virtual certification is a topic discussed within the automotive ecosystem, allowing to solely relying on the simulation from end to end. But we are not at that point right now.

Which is your largest market for automotive business?

The automotive industry is the most significant contributor to our total revenues. Today, Japan is the largest market for our automotive business. However, India has been an important market for ESI, and it has been growing quite well over the years.

Most of our engineering developments teams, for both our software and our platforms, are based in India.

What are the challenges in the business?

The increasing complexity I mentioned before is definitely a challenge, but it also brings opportunities to us. Our end-to-end multi-material, multiprocess solutions and chaining capabilities are key to overcome the challenges of the automobile market. Due to the ever growing content of electronics, system simulations and systems of systems techniques are improving as well. Our focus is to strengthen our collaboration with partners in the ecosystem to support the customers in solving their complex problems. (MT)

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The Supervisory Board of German luxury brand BMW AG has appointed Raymond Wittmann to the Board of Management. He will assume responsibility for Production on 13 May 2026.

The appointment also coincides with Milan Nedeljkovic becoming Chairman of the Board of Management.

Wittmann joined the BMW Group in 2015 and has led Corporate Strategy and Corporate Development since 2024. His previous roles include Head of Assembly at the Munich plant, CFO of the Americas sales region, and Project Manager for the production site in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. He holds a PhD in aerospace engineering and previously worked as a partner at a consultancy.

Dr. Nicolas Peter, Chairman, Supervisory Board of BMW AG, said, “Raymond Wittmann combines strategic thinking with operational excellence and business responsibility. With his broad, cross-divisional experience and international perspective, he has the key qualities for leading the production division.”

“Raymond Wittmann complements the future Board of Management team led by Milan Nedeljkovic with the right strengths and skills. The Supervisory Board is very confident that the Board of Management, in its new composition, will continue to drive the success of the BMW Group in the future,” said Dr. Peter.

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The 32 member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) have agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves. This collective action is intended to address market disruptions resulting from the conflict in the Middle East that began on 28 February 2026.

The decision follows an extraordinary meeting of IEA governments to assess global supply conditions. Exports of crude and refined products through the Strait of Hormuz have fallen to less than 10 percent of levels recorded before the conflict, leading operators to curtail regional production.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical corridor for global energy, with an average of 20 million barrels per day transiting the waterway in 2025. This volume represents approximately 25 percent of the world's seaborne oil trade. Current disruptions have limited the options for bypassing the strait.

IEA members maintain stockpiles exceeding 1.2 billion barrels, in addition to 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government mandates. The 400 million barrels release marks the sixth coordinated action in the agency's history since its formation in 1974. Previous releases occurred in 1991, 2005, 2011 and twice in 2022. The current export rate is estimated to be less than 10 percent of pre-conflict volumes.

Faith Birol, Executive Director, IEA, said, “The oil market challenges we are facing are unprecedented in scale, therefore I am very glad that IEA Member countries have responded with an emergency collective action of unprecedented size. Oil markets are global so the response to major disruptions needs to be global too. Energy security is the founding mandate of the IEA, and I am pleased that IEA Members are showing strong solidarity in taking decisive action together.”

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As part of its evolving global roadmap, French automotive major Renault Group is increasingly aligning its strategy around a select set of high-growth markets, with India emerging as a critical pillar for the company’s future competitiveness.

Senior leadership indicated that the carmaker now views India not merely as a domestic sales market but as a full-fledged industrial and sourcing hub capable of strengthening its global supply chain. With localisation levels already exceeding 90 percent, the company believes the Indian ecosystem can play a significant role in improving cost competitiveness and supporting exports to other regions.

To accelerate this transformation, the Group strengthened its leadership structure in the India by appointing a Stephane Deblaise as its first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to oversee the entire India operation. The move reflects a broader intent to deepen local decision-making and integrate the market more closely into Renault’s global strategy.

India and South America drive future trade opportunities

The company is also exploring the potential benefits of free trade agreements (FTAs) that could further strengthen export flows from India and South America.

Executives indicated that improved trade frameworks could enhance the role of India as a competitive production and sourcing base, particularly as global automakers reassess supply chains and regional manufacturing footprints.

At the same time, the company remains cautious in other global markets. Chinese suppliers currently account for around five percent of Renault’s global sourcing, and the group has no plans to re-enter the Chinese market in the near term.

A key shift in the group’s strategy since 2019 has been a move away from aggressively chasing volumes toward building stronger brand value and profitability.

Instead of pushing for market share in every region, Renault says it is focusing on markets where it can build a sustainable and profitable business case. The emphasis is now on delivering differentiated products, stronger customer value and improved quality rather than simply expanding volumes.

This philosophy is shaping the company’s approach to India as well.

Rather than targeting the entire market, Renault plans to focus on specific customer segments, particularly middle- and upper-income families seeking value-driven mobility solutions. The company believes that strengthening product positioning and improving residual values will ultimately support stronger brand perception.

India’s passenger vehicle market remains highly competitive, especially in the price band of EUR 15,000–20,000 vehicles, where global and domestic manufacturers are battling for share.

Historically, Renault established its presence in the country through entry-level offerings such as the Renault Kwid. However, the company is now looking to shift its brand positioning toward higher-value products.

The success of the Renault Duster in the past continues to shape Renault’s product roadmap, with the company describing the nameplate as a brand in itself in several markets. Building on this equity, Renault plans to introduce new SUV offerings that combine stronger design, advanced technologies and multi-energy powertrain options.

One such upcoming concept is the Renault Bridger, which the company believes could be a game changer in its product portfolio. Designed around flexible powertrain architectures, the model is expected to support multiple energy options as part of Renault’s broader global push toward electrified and hybrid mobility solutions.

The company emphasised that it is not starting from scratch in India, pointing out that millions of customers already drive Renault vehicles across the country.

Another major focus area for the group is accelerating product development cycles.

According to Renault’s leadership, one of the biggest challenges facing the global automotive industry today is the ability to develop new vehicles in less than two years while keeping pace with rapidly evolving technologies.

The company has already demonstrated faster development cycles in China and is now working to replicate that agility in Europe by integrating engineers and suppliers more closely into the product development process.

This approach could also influence Renault’s India strategy, particularly as the company looks to launch new products more quickly and respond faster to market shifts.

Strengthening downstream ecosystem

Beyond manufacturing and product strategy, Renault is also placing increasing emphasis on downstream value creation, including dealership networks, customer services and vehicle residual values.

Management believes that stronger engagement with dealers and improved lifecycle value for customers will be critical differentiators in markets like India, where brand perception and resale value play a significant role in purchasing decisions.

The company currently maintains capital expenditure and R&D spending below eight percent of revenue, while maintaining tight control over inventory levels, which average around EUR 1 billion globally.

While Renault acknowledges that its current market share in India remains modest, the company sees substantial long-term potential in the country’s rapidly expanding passenger vehicle market.

With a renewed focus on SUVs, high localisation levels and a shift toward value-driven products, the French automaker believes it has a credible opportunity to rebuild momentum in the market.

For Renault, the strategy is clear: rather than chasing scale at any cost, the company intends to grow selectively and profitably, with India playing an increasingly central role in its global ambitions.

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French automotive major Renault Group, which unveiled its mid-term business strategy ‘futuREady’, will see India playing a huge role in its ambitious growth plan.

Fabrice Cambolive, CEO, Renault Brand, has stated that the company’s upcoming Bridger SUV, slated to be a key driver for growth, will go into production by next year.

What’s more, the sub-4-metre tech-loaded Bridger SUV touted as the company's flagship for the international markets with a spacious 400-litre boot, will see India as its first market before being exported to other countries.

As part of its future plans, the Bridger SUV will be a multi-energy vehicle, which means petrol, electric vehicle and a hybrid engine to enable transition towards EV.

While full details of the product will be revealed closer to launch, the company has clearly stated that outside Europe, India, South America and South Korea are key growth regions.

The high-growth markets with an estimated 50 million units per annum, represent 60 percent of total industry volume growth where Renault Group is present.

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