Why AI Matters Now More Than Ever in Automotive
The global automotive artificial intelligence market is valued at $18.83 billion USD in 2025 and is expected to grow to $38.45 billion USD by 2030. Artificial intelligence is rapidly redefining the automotive value chain as companies across the sector are leveraging AI to accelerate scenario planning, redefine customer engagement, and more. As automakers and suppliers grapple with evolving technologies and experience-centric business models, AI is emerging as a core catalyst for innovation and efficiency.
But with such fast-paced innovation, how can industry leaders strike the right balance between investing in transformative technologies and optimizing what’s already working?
This question was a leading point of discussion at our recent Executive Exchange in Detroit, which brought senior leaders from OEMs, tier supplies, and tech innovators across the automotive industry. During the evening, we hosted a panel where our attendees exchanged perspectives on how AI is shaping the next wave of automotive breakthroughs, impacting current technologies and operations, and aligning with their strategic priorities to create long-term value. Panelists include:
Kory Weisman, Clarios
Kory Weisman is the Director of Global Commercial Excellence at Clarios, where he leads strategic initiatives to enhance commercial performance across the organization. With a strong background in financial planning and analysis from his time at Johnson Controls, Kory brings deep expertise in cross-functional leadership, data-driven strategy, and operational improvement
Raul Arredondo, eMobility Strategy & Marketing
Raul Arredondo is a seasoned strategy and marketing consultant with over two decades of experience in the automotive, electric vehicle, eMobility, and battery industries. He has held global leadership roles at Rockwell Automation, Clarios, Regal Rexnord, Fiat, CNH, and IVECO, driving strategic planning, product development, and market expansion across North America, Europe, and Asia.
Nikhil James, Evalueserve
Nikhil James is a Client Director at Evalueserve, where he leads strategic client relationships and drives business growth across North America. Based in Toronto, he brings deep expertise in insights, advisory, and data-driven consulting to help organizations make smarter decisions
Gabriel Keeler, Evalueserve
Panel Moderator: Gabriel Keeler is the Vice President and Client Director at Evalueserve, where he provides SaaS and professional services to Fortune 1000 companies across Manufacturing, Transportation, TMT, Energy & Chemicals, Consumer Goods, Insurance, Food & Beverage, and Healthcare. With a strong background in consulting and business development, Gabe helps organizations transform strategic decision-making through digitally enabled insights and market research.
Key Themes from the Evening
Investing in the Future vs. Optimizing the Present
A key question of the evening was how to balance investments in emerging technologies versus investments to improve existing ones. AI has helped companies find their balance by making scenario planning much more efficient. What once took weeks now takes a matter of seconds, allowing companies to simulate outlines and maximize their investments with speed and precision.
Cross-Functional Intelligence: The New Strategic Imperative
To make more informed and strategic decisions, companies must connect their data across engineering, procurement, and commercial teams. Predictive AI tools are already helping simulate regulatory shifts and roadmap launches, while generative models can synthesize market and competitive insights, create knowledge graphs to match internal capabilities to external opportunities, and more. The goal? Make data more actionable, fast, and secure.
Software-Defined Vehicles and Experience-Centric Models
As the automotive industry shifts towards software-defined vehicles and customer centric-experiences, AI is playing a pivotal role. SDVs demand advanced battery capabilities and seamless integration with OEM features. Kory shared how Clarios is using AI to analyze RFQs in minutes, ensuring their batteries can support the latest OEM features and SDVs.
Nikhil also emphasized market mapping as a powerful use case, noting how agentic and generative AI can shape the user experience. He highlighted how multilayer Perceptron or MLP tools use predictive analysis, customer segmentation, and sentiment analysis to influence messaging. He found that integrating internal and external data is key to building a unified intelligence layer that supports smarter marketing and monetization.
Forecasting, Demand, and Commercial Impact
The conversation turned to forecasting accuracy—demand, inventory, pricing—and how AI is beginning to show real impact. Raul shared an OEM perspective, pointing to AI’s promise in managing complex product mixes across powertrains and configurations. Kory noted that while Clarios is still early in its AI journey, the company has recently launched a new AI policy to establish a framework for the responsible, ethical, legal, and secure development and deployment of AI systems.
Final Reflections
From scenario planning to GTM strategy, the Detroit dinner underscored how AI is no longer a future consideration—it’s a present-day catalyst. Whether optimizing legacy systems or exploring new frontiers, the message was clear: data-driven intelligence is the new competitive edge.
We’re grateful to all who joined us for this dynamic evening of exchange and exploration. Stay tuned for more insights as we continue to convene industry leaders around the world.
About our Executive Exchange Series
Evalueserve’s Executive Exchange events provide an unparalleled opportunity for senior executives to connect, share insights, and explore innovative ideas in a relaxed setting over dinner and drinks. Hosted in global business hubs such as New York, Toronto, and London, our exchanges feature engaging expert-led discussions on trends such as digital transformation and AI.
These intimate, invitation-only dinners are carefully curated around key industries including banking, private markets, life sciences and healthcare, technology, and more.
