Volkswagen, BMW, Ford, Renault: Why World’s Car Manufacturing Giants Turn to Blockchain

New innovative technologies such as blockchain and distributed ledger technology adopted in day-to-day activities, continue to stand the test of time. With the growth of the giant companies turning to adopt Blockchain the trust in the future of this innovative technology grows respectively.

One of the largest in the world of car manufacturing industries, famous German automaker - Volkswagen - has announced its partnership with IBM to utilize its Blockchain technology based platform. According to reports IBM Blockchain platform will allow Volkswagen to track the flow of minerals across the manufacturing supply chains and to ensure that strategic minerals are mined responsibly.   

Volkswagen said in a statement:   

“Built on the IBM Blockchain Platform and powered by the Linux Foundation's Hyperledger Fabric, the new platform for enabling the traceability and provenance of minerals is designed to provide easy access for interested parties of all sizes and roles in the supply chain.”   

Car Manufacturing and Logistic Giants Join   

In May 2018, four giant international car manufacturers, BMW, General Motors, Ford and Renault, joined technology providers and other blockchain startups to build the consortium Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative (MOBI) to apply distributed ledger technology to the automotive industry. And their primary mission is to speed up the adoption of blockchain and put the industry on the same page with use cases ranging from autonomous payments to ride-sharing. 

Later in January 2019, the Ford Motor Company, among with such companies like IBM, RCS Global, Huayou Cobalt and LG Chem announced their plan to build a Blockchain-based network to track significant materials flow for the automotive and consumer electronics sector in their supply chains.   

Lisa Drake, Vice President, Global Purchasing and Powertrain Operations at Ford Motor Company commented then:      

“By working with other top industries in this network, our aim is to use state-of-the-art technology to guarantee materials produced for our vehicles will aid meet our dedication to shielding human rights and the environment.”

Italian Transport Sector Adopting Blockchain   

Furthermore, the Italian transport and logistics sector is working on merging its activities with blockchain and distributed ledger technology. However, research shows that the use of blockchain is still low in the transport and logistics sector.   

In the manufacturing sector, firms are adopting blockchain technology, digital solutions and data analysis, and also use robotics plus artificial intelligence to increase on the efficiencies in their production processes.   

The Automotive industry in the country is also carrying out blockchain-based digital vehicle dossier projects that will help in transforming and creating an ecosystem of interoperability. Recently, ACI and EY are working on the digital car dossier project.