Tech Changes Fast, Customer Trust Doesn't

Volkswagen's planned workforce reductions made me reflect on something I first noticed almost 20 years ago.

I left the automotive industry in 2008, frustrated by how slowly product decisions were being made, which I saw as critical to brands’ success.  Product strategy and business economics seemed disconnected.

Today, the industry has changed. Companies such as BYD have combined rapid product development, vertical integration and disciplined execution, while Tesla proved that software, manufacturing and product architecture can become enduring competitive advantages.

But, have some companies underestimated one of their greatest assets: brand equity?

Few products have earned such deep customer trust over decades as the Volkswagen Golf has. Volkswagen did launch the e-Golf, but because it was built on an architecture originally designed for internal combustion, it inevitably involved engineering compromises. The later ID.3 addressed many of those limitations, but it was a significant departure from the Golf in both design language and customer experience.

Would evolving the Golf into Volkswagen's flagship EV product family, while gradually phasing out ICE variants, have accelerated adoption, reduced execution risk and generated valuable customer learning sooner?

This extends beyond automotive. Sustained competitive advantage often comes from building on what customers already trust and brand equity by improving the underlying economics, technology and operating model. 

Technology can evolve quickly. Customer trust often doesn't. The best product strategies recognise the difference.

The businesses that outperform over the next decade will be ones that make disciplined decisions about what to reinvent, what to simplify, and what to protect and build on.

That's not just an engineering challenge. It’s a commercial, operating and leadership challenge. 

What would you have done?