Green Takes a Break: Auto Bigwigs Cut Back on Planet-First Choices, Shows Shocking Survey

it looks like Mother Earth’s taking a backseat ride in the grand auto industry race. Yep, you heard it right! A fresh-out-the-oven survey’s revealed that the big car honchos and their pals are, dare I say, giving the cold shoulder to our dear planet. Instead, they’re keeping an eagle eye on the messy world of geopolitics. Can you believe that after all the hullabaloo over green initiatives, they’ve decided to tap the brakes on all that?

Now, don’t get me wrong. Keeping an eye on global risks is crucial, especially after the rollercoaster these guys have had in the supply chain world. But here’s a zinger for ya: Companies are not just cutting back a little – oh no! They’re dropping their green initiatives faster than a hot potato. Things like keeping tabs on carbon footprints and making supply routes leaner and greener have seen a dip of around 10% in just a year. That’s according to the wise folks over at Capgemini, who ran this eye-opening survey.

And, hang onto your hats, the amount of green dough these companies are investing? It’s gone down from a cool $36.6 million to $30.5 million. Yikes! And here’s a kicker: a whopping one-third confessed they don’t even have a full-fledged plan for keeping it green. Talk about missing the forest for the trees!

When asked what makes ’em tick, most shot back with the usual suspects: quality, geopolitics, cost, and how tough their business backbone is. Oh, and way down that list? Yep, you guessed it – our dear Mother Earth.

Capgemini put it pretty bluntly, “Keeping the wheels turning seems to overshadow the fancy green projects, like measuring your carbon shoesize or sniffing out greener routes.” They rounded up a cool 1,004 execs from car giants worldwide, from the BYD squad to the folks at Ford and even the speedsters over at Lamborghini.

And if you’re thinking this is some out-of-the-blue trend, think again. It seems our auto buddies have been singing this tune for a bit, thanks to a mixed bag of pandemic blues, tense global scenes, tricky chip shortages, and those pesky rising costs.

Here’s a tidbit to chew on: about half of the chip supply still feels like walking on thin ice. And when it comes to offshore supply, it’s shrinking like my favorite tee in the wash. In fact, Capgemini bets it’s gonna keep shrinking for the next couple of years.

Whew! That’s quite the twist in the tale, ain’t it?