The Missing Link? : New Product Development and the Welsh First Tier Automotive Industry

Over the past two decades Wales has been quite successful in developing industrial clusters inautomotive components and electronics, but is still relatively weak in areas thought important tolong term manufacturing competitiveness, notably Research and Development (R&D). Thispaper examines issues surrounding R&D and more specifically New Product Development(NPD) in the Welsh automotive component industry. Utilising a survey (via postal questionnaires)and case studies (via face to face interviews), it was found that a significant minority of firmsundertake no NPD at all and that best practices (as widely accepted in the automotive industry)were not being utilised in many cases. These results demonstrate the task facing agencies such asthe WDA if crucial sectors such as automotive components are to remain successful within Walesinto the future.[...]