Automotive aftermarket professionals are naturally concerned about their job security as artificial intelligence capabilities grow. An industry expert recently put minds to ease, explaining that AI is set to boost efficiency in the industry without slashing jobs.
Attendees raised concerned about the impact of AI on job functions within the automotive aftermarket at the MEMA Aftermarket Suppliers Vision Conference earlier this year. In a session focused on AI’s role in the industry, Neury Freitas, partner at advisory firm Roland Berger, acknowledged the interest around the concern and offered insights into how AI can enhance efficiency without significantly reducing the workforce.
“We see that AI is going to definitely help companies improve their efficiency in general,” Freitas observed.
But, he clarified that increased efficiency does not necessarily equate to a massive reduction in jobs within the industry.
“There are clear use cases — you have your service, when you have within the chats or you have your customer center, this is an example [of how] AI with chatbots, they can really help,” Freitas explained
He further added that time to complete work can be reduced at the lower-skilled jobs because AI can help speed things up.
Freitas aimed to demystify the implications of AI on employment, highlighting the demand for more specialized roles. “Yes, in the world, like in the U.S., we will have demand for more specialized jobs, including data scientists. But we as the aftermarket … that’s knowledge proof.”
In other words, there’s a lot of specialized knowledge in this industry. There are many specialists and that’s knowledge that artificial intelligence can’t replace.
He explored what aftermarket companies will need to think about. Freitas specially stressed the importance of a strong IT infrastructure rather than hiring an extensive team of expensive AI specialists.
“You need to have a strong IT infrastructure, you need to have a strong IT group. Again, you do not need to go and hire 20 very expensive data scientists that specialize in AI,” Freitas said.
He cited the high costs associated with AI experts, noting, “The last information I got is like the signing bonus of like an AI expert is around like $1 million. This is what we are talking about; like it’s insane. This is not something that we believe most of them are going to be able to afford.”
Freitas concluded by emphasizing the importance of partnering with specialized experts to effectively implement AI without overwhelming costs. “We need to go in and hire and then finally, openness that they have hired those experts,” he said, advocating for a balanced approach to integrating AI into the automotive aftermarket.
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