Antwerp is the Diamond Capital of the World. Los Angeles is the Entertainment Capital of the World. San Francisco is the Information Technology Capital of the World. Detroit is the Automotive Capital of the World. They call it the Motor City. The name and the influence remain despite the dystopian cliché spread by many media in the past 8 years. The city itself has been to hell and back but the region has always kept its importance to the Automotive industry. The crisis years have weakened the local forces for a short period of time but the fast recovery helped making it stronger than ever as the economic activity is far more diversified and the automotive has evolved towards the mobility industry.
The greater Detroit area benefits from the convergence of the experience automotive industry and the digital know-how from the information technology industry. Today, the SouthEast Michigan region gathers 16 carmakers, 400 R&D centers, 500 American suppliers and 1,300 more from 38 different countries in the. As a matter fact, 91 of the top 100 suppliers in North America are based in Michigan. In the meantime, the competencies and the facilities provide a unique knowledge that attracted lots of start-up and Silicon Valley players in the last years.
As a result, this is more than 90,000 engineers dedicated to the Mobility Industry. Silicon Valley programs the software. Detroit creates the hardware and integrates the software to make a reliable product for the new economic model to come. Large California players have understood the importance of being both in Silicon Valley and Detroit. Waymo, Uber, Karma Automotive and many more companies benefit from a dual West Coast and Midwest location. Production sites, labs, testing grounds and skills are in Michigan to stay. The soaring sales volumes are greatly improving the situation. The heavy investments made in the past years have consolidated the situation so much that any slump in US sales would have a more measured impact on the economic development. The Arsenal of Democracy has turned into an Arsenal of Technology and creativity.
The concentration of development and testing facilities have also diversified. The existing Chrysler Technical Center, the GM and Ford proving grounds in Milford and Romeo, respectively, are now completed with new mutualized test tracks. The M-City and ACM (American Center for Mobility) sites are shared between carmakers and suppliers for the development of connected and autonomous vehicles. M-City already provides a large choice of road configurations on a 32 acres (13ha) site while ACM will offer over 335 acres (136ha) on a former Willow Run Airport site.
Administrations, institutions, institutes and initiatives are pushing towards the region’s growth such as OESA (Original Equipment Supplier Association), CAR (Center for Automotive Research), NCMS (National Center for Manufacturing Sciences), ACM (American Center for Mobility), DRC (Detroit Regional Chamber), Opportunity Detroit, Destination Detroit, MICHauto, Pure Michigan just to name a few. They all point at a sustainable growth and emphasize on one main issue for the Greater Detroit Area which is the lack of talents in a sufficient number.
In early 2014, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder was seeking the possibility to get 50,000 employment-based visas for the Detroit Region. During the 2008 recession crisis, lots of skilled engineers and technicians left the region as they didn’t expect the heavy and diversified investments that characterized the recovery. Today, the new dynamics of the region results in a higher number of position for a lower number of available talents. Numerous articles and reports illustrate that worrisome situation such as the CAR report. MICHauto, a Detroit Regional Chamber initiative, is addressing for years the engineering shortage. The organization promotes the opportunities to help companies and universities attract talents in SouthEast Michigan. When Pierre Lenel, Engineer for ALTEN Technology USA, arrived in Michigan for his consulting mission, he was surprised by the high demand for people with his skills, especially compared to the situation that was in France.
The downs of Detroit never swept its roots and its strong history. They enhance the existing ground for diversified activities in design, art, gastronomy, technology and entertainment. Aside from the great diversity of companies, openings and career opportunities, the Detroit area is offering a lot to newcomers. The revitalization of the city provides a lot of new restaurants, stores and indoor and outdoor activities. Detroit is also one of the few cities to gather 4 major teams with the Red Wings (NHL), the Pistons (NBA), the Lions (NFL) and the Tigers (MLB).
Sometimes called the City of Design, Detroit has an attraction for artistic and cultural activities complementary to the DIA (Detroit Institute of arts), the Heidelberg Project or the famous city Murals. Music has always played an important role in the city history with the Motown record company, the rock roots from the seventies and the birth of Electronic music in the 1980s. Several festivals celebrate Detroit’s creativity such as the Design Festival or the Techno music Movement festival. If you dig into Detroit’s history you’ll figure that it all has a link to the automotive industry. Because Detroit is foremost the Motor city.
This is also heaven on earth for car lovers with several Cars and coffee every weekend, the Lingenfelter Collection, the Automotive Hall of fame, Milan Dragway, the Henry Ford Museum, M1 Concourse and Waterford raceways, Michigan International Speedway, the Woodward Dream Cruise in August and Cruisin’ Woodward every weekend during spring and summer time. This was another surprise for Pierre Lenel as he said: “I was expecting some car related activities but not such a permanent car culture.”
Every automotive related company should be in the Detroit area. Every skilled and challenge driven automotive engineer thinking of an international experience should consider Michigan. Pierre Lenel is more than happy with his career move. He was looking for “a new challenge in a different environment”. He found: “a great quality of life and the good balance between professional and personal life.” Nothing compares to Detroit for opportunities.