It’s a public secret that I’m obsessed with anything to do with cars. In the automotive sector, everything comes together: innovation, employment, sustainability and design, and of course the fun and feeling of freedom thanks to mobility.
What’s more, it’s a sector that is undergoing a major evolution. Radical transition, big data, new economies and climate change demand innovation, demand sustainable development. The sector must reinvent itself. This requires a different mindset. As an entrepreneur, you have to have the spirit to innovate and to make mobility smarter, cleaner, more efficient and safer. For the people, companies and organizations aware of this, there is plenty of opportunity to be found.
The Netherlands is among the global leaders when it comes to innovation in the automotive sector. Did you know, for example, that NXP Semiconductors’ chips are in every car in the world? That Dutch designers and engineers are working around the globe? And that dozens of mobility concepts took their first steps in the Netherlands? Development and innovation are our masterpieces. The Netherlands is a true knowledge country. We are leading the world. To keep doing this, we must join forces and give the sector the stage it deserves. And that’s what we’re doing with the Automotive Innovation Award. The entries are often brilliant ideas: innovations that will make a difference. With these innovations, we can show the world that we are big in a small country. The world already knows that the Dutch are experts in water management. If water is posing a danger somewhere, we often hear the call: “Bring in the Dutch!” As it should also be in the automotive field: Got a mobility challenge? Bring in the Dutch!