During Smart Manufacturing Week 2022, which took place from 8 to 10 June, the Luxembourg AutoMobility Cluster and the Market Intelligence department of Luxinnovation presented the first ever mapping of the automotive sector in Luxembourg.
“The country has a long tradition in the automotive sector, especially through the development and production of components,” said Anthony Auert, manager of the Luxembourg AutoMobility Cluster. “This industry has undergone profound changes dictated by the speed of innovation, time-to-market, cost pressure and post-crisis recovery.”
Having a comprehensive view of this ecosystem, its players and their profiles helps to better understand its evolution and the challenges ahead. This is as true for long-established companies as it is for start-ups that are just beginning to develop.
“To build this map, we considered companies active in road mobility. Other modes of transport by rail, air or water are not taken into account, nor are logistics companies,” explained Mohamed Toumi, Senior Market Intelligence Analyst at Luxinnovation.
A well-supported transformation
As a whole, the automotive sector represents some 700 companies. For 58% of them, automotive and mobility are the main activities, while for 27% it is only a secondary activity. The remainder – 101 companies – are identified as service providers supporting the emergence of more intelligent and sustainable mobility.
“This is an interesting first conclusion,” comments Auert. “The automotive sector is facing profound changes, but with 101 change catalyst companies listed so far, the good news is that incumbent companies can count on a real force to support their transformation.”
Data analytics and artificial intelligence
Structurally, the automotive sector in Luxembourg is mainly composed of small companies with less than 50 employees. These companies are well established with an average of 17 years of activity in the Grand Duchy.
Of the 700 companies, 47 are start-ups, more than half of which fall into the category of “disruptors”. “The startups that have emerged in recent years not only bring innovative solutions, for which digital plays a big role, but they also have an agile way of working that is a source of inspiration for the incumbent players,” Mr Auert notes. “By breaking down silos and promoting inter-company exchanges, the right conditions are in place to diversify and preserve an important sector of the economy.”
Data analysis and artificial intelligence are the two fields most frequently covered by these start-ups developing solutions for the mobility of tomorrow.
In this context of proven dynamism, not only in Luxembourg, but also within the Greater Region, where the Grand Duchy’s players have long-standing close collaborations with their Belgian, German and French counterparts, the future incubator hosted by the Automobility campus in Bissen will play an important role. It will promote collaborations at all levels, fostering partnerships with established automotive and mobility players and leveraging their research and development infrastructures.