When Hyundai planned the opening of their Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center GmbH at Russelsheim in Germany they commissioned Frost & Sullivan to create the blueprint for their development activities that were modeled on industry best practices.
Mindsheet was commissioned by Frost & Sullivan to perform the competitor intelligence gathering and to piece together the data due to Raglan Tribe’s extensive development experience in the Automotive Industry.
The project defined the development processes, the development portfolio, the organisation, and the budget for each functional department based on the competitor benchmarks.
From Standard Intel to a Toyota Playbook
Navigating the fine line between insight and imitation
What made this project especially intricate was that Hyundai wasn’t just after a broad understanding of how European carmakers did things. They set their sights on outdoing Toyota in reliability and operational excellence. Once we were in the door, the brief subtly shifted. Hyundai wanted to know not just how any car company operated but how Toyota’s European design centre ticked down to the smallest detail. They wanted to mirror the ratio of Japanese to European staff, the processes, the whole approach.
This meant our work blurred the line between standard competitor analysis and something that edged close to industrial espionage. We had to keep it cool and professional—these were still industry peers, after all—but also deliver the kind of insight Hyundai demanded. In the end, they got an invaluable head start on how to shape their Rüsselsheim centre into a true rival to Toyota’s European operations.
Like learning the master’s playbook to beat the master at his own game
In essence, it was like being handed the rulebook of the reigning champion and then being asked to write an even better version for a challenger. We navigated that delicate balance so that Hyundai could walk in not just prepared, but primed to outdo the best.
Today the Research and Development Centre in Russelsheim has an important role in the success story of Hyundai and KIA. Today they sell worldwide more than 6.5 million vehicles annually. They now have technical employees from over 20 different nations working at the R&D Center shaping the future development of your cars.
Mindsheet’s knowledge, credibility, creativity and contacts greatly enhanced our competitor benchmarking study which helped us secure and deliver a large contract. I look forward to engaging their services again.
Sarwant Singh, Practice Partner, Frost and Sullivan
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