WHAT WILL DISRUPT NR INDUSTRY?

摘要

Disruptions in business, industry and society are not uncommon these days. Knowledge explosion has impacted every aspect of life. Human knowledge, which doubled around every 100 years earlier, will soon be doubling every 12 months, and soon after that, every 12 hrs! What's in store for rubber industry in such a scenario? Take the case of the automobile industry which consumes the majority of natural rubber available. The entry of autonomous vehicles (AV) will change the face and structure of the auto industry. Noted research organization IHS Markit projects that public autonomous vehicle sales will start on a large scale by 2025 and that almost all vehicles will be autonomous after 2050. This will adversely affect car sales because of a variety of factors. "With AVs, new car sales could fall as much as 40 per cent," according to Richard Small Wood, President & CEO, Sumitomo Rubber, North America.