By levidesmond69 on Skatehive
For decades, Western auto suppliers thrived in the background. While auto manufacturers are the frontrunners in the glory of polished showroom reveals and Super Bowl commercials. They built the guts of every car on the road: fuel systems, suspension assemblies, braking technologies, and thousands of intricate components that never made the headlines. Yet, these companies often outperform their carmaker clients on financial metrics like profitability and cash flow. But that era is coming to a brutal halt, The auto industry is undergoing a shift not just from petrol to electric power, but from hardware dominance to software integration. And it's not the automakers that are bleeding the most. It’s the suppliers. According to data from AlixPartners, the world’s top 30 auto suppliers saw their free cash flow drop by nearly a third in 2024 a big blow for an industry that once prided itself on reliability and steady margins. That’s no joke. That’s a full blown structural damage. Take for exam