With that in mind, it’s no wonder there’s an inadvertently pressurised tone to how HMG announced Harrer’s role and what is expected of him: “The group anticipates Harrer’s leadership will expedite its electrification transition, securing top-tier leadership in the electric vehicle era and enhancing the marketability of Hyundai Motor and Kia’s products.”
The first challenge for Harrer was a cultural one: so much time spent working for German OEMs, particularly within the Volkswagen Group, creates a certain way of doing things.
He says: “The established processes here are for a successful company. You can’t show up and say: ‘I know how this works.’ You have to listen, learn, observe. The way colleagues address issues and topics is completely different.”
Yet those obstacles pale in comparison with the technical challenge through which he has to navigate the company.
Harrer quotes the commonly used line that the change the industry is going through is “the biggest one in 100 years”, yet he is at the very forefront of delivering this transition. As for what embodies that change, he cites not only the switch from internal combustion engines to electric motors but also the software and software-defined vehicles (SDV) that have “importance at the same level”.
The renaissance of hybrids is another recent curveball that is shaping how resources are deployed, all while ensuring costs don’t spiral out of control.
“A lot of stuff is ongoing,” he says in a matter-of-fact way. Later on in the interview he recounts an anecdote that decisions used to be along the lines of ‘should we or should we not make a convertible version’ of a car. How times change.
Given the number of plates that need spinning, this need for speed in vehicle development has never been greater, especially now that European car makers are having their development times of four years or more shown up by new Chinese entrants who are developing cars in less than half that. But Harrer notes: “You always see China speed, but don’t underestimate Korea speed.”
He says decisions can be made in Korea “within days”, whereas in Europe things might take half a year and endless meetings.