Magna’s Steven Jenkins underscores why Tier 1s still matter in the age of software-defined vehicles

Shift: A podcast about mobility

Automotive News

Business

4.8 • 31 Ratings

🗓️ 25 May 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Steven Jenkins, vice president of technology strategy at Magna Electronics, discusses how partnerships with the likes of Nvidia spur progress and sophistication in driver-assistance systems. Further, he explains how suppliers remain central in the commercialization of vehicles while working with tech companies and traditional automakers. Finally, he offers firsthand observations on China’s automated-driving future, and shares thoughts on how Western carmakers can keep pace.

Transcript

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0:00.0	How will we move, charge, and power our world in the next decade?
0:04.7	Join TechBrews event on May 29th to hear from the experts shaping transportation and energy.
0:10.4	Get 25% off with code AN25 at EmergingTechBrew.com slash events.
0:28.8	Hi, everybody. Welcome to Shift, a podcast about mobility. I'm Pete Bigelow, your host and reporter at the Automotive News.
0:36.3	My guest on the podcast today is Stephen Jenkins, VP of Technology Strategy at Magna Electronics.
0:41.3	Steve and I first started talking about the podcast about the time of Nvidia GTC.
0:43.3	I guess that was about two months ago and we got in a great conversation about driver
0:47.3	assist system advances, about the way automakers, tech companies and suppliers are working together
0:53.3	now and about just keeping up with innovations coming from Chinese automakers, tech companies and suppliers are working together now, and about just keeping up with
0:55.4	innovations coming from Chinese automakers.
0:58.0	There's so much development in these other areas that it's very hard for them to keep up.
1:03.5	You need to be the best in the world, and you can't have 10 people being best in the world.
1:07.7	So we'll get to all that in just a minute.
1:09.8	First, we've got to look at this
1:10.9	week's headlines. And for that, I am joined by my automotive news colleague, John Irwin. John,
1:15.7	how are you today? Doing all. How are you doing, Pete? Doing good. We're here on the Cusp of Memorial Day
1:22.1	weekend. And I read earlier that AAA says 45.1 million Americans will travel more than 50 miles this weekend. And
1:30.8	that is the most people on the move since 2005. So John, are you joining them or are you staying
1:37.3	home? What are the big plans? Staying home, but got some cookout plans and that sort of thing.
1:42.8	It's kind of cool here. So we'll see.
1:47.4	I'm hoping it would be a little more summer weather, but I'll take it.
1:50.5	Definitely not summer weather in Detroit by any stretch.
	...

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