Drivetime

What can Formula 1 teach us about the future of the cars we drive every day? In this episode of Drivetime, Jacqui is joined by patent attorney Paul Loustalan from Reddie & Grose Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys to explore the world of automotive innovation, from the closely guarded secrets of F1 teams to the technologies shaping tomorrow’s road cars. With a background in mechanical and automotive engineering, Paul offers a fascinating look at how manufacturers protect new ideas, why F1 teams sometimes favour trade secrets over patents, and how motorsport innovation can find its way into mainstream vehicles.

They discuss:
 Why F1’s rapid development cycles make trade secrets so valuable.
 How innovations in tyres, hybrid technology and vehicle control can move from
motorsport into road cars.
 How patents work and why an invention doesn’t need to be world-changing to be
worth protecting.
 The growing role of AI in automotive development and innovation.
 Where Paul is seeing innovation today, including battery technology, vehicle-to-X
communications and software-defined vehicles.
 The different approaches to autonomous driving, including camera-based systems and LiDAR. It’s a conversation about what happens when engineering, competition and intellectual property collide, and why the next big automotive breakthrough might actually start with a very small improvement.

Drivetime is the global auto tech podcast powered by Keyloop.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this gear change episode of Drivetime, Jacqui continues her conversation with Siddharth Kashyap, Consulting Partner at Tata Consultancy Services, exploring how technology, data and empathy can reshape automotive experiences for retailers and customers.

The discussion explores how businesses can simplify customer journeys by challenging existing processes, repeatedly asking why each step is required and designing technology around the people who will use it. For Siddharth, empathy must sit at the heart of that work because the success of a solution depends on whether it makes users’ lives easier. They also discuss a single digital gateway developed to bring multiple OEM applications into one interface for retailer users. Rather than replacing the underlying systems, the approach presents relevant information according to the user’s role, helping sales and service teams navigate fewer separate applications. The conversation then turns to AI and personalisation. Connected vehicle and customer data can help brands create more contextual experiences, but Siddharth Kashyap stresses that this must be done with the customer’s consent. The goal is to act like a helpful concierge, not make the customer feel watched.

Siddharth Kashyap also shares how AI is reducing parts of the software development lifecycle and helping businesses analyse volumes of data that would be difficult for people to process manually. However, every potential use case must still solve a genuine business problem by increasing revenue, reducing costs or improving efficiency.

Drivetime is the global auto tech podcast powered by Keyloop.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Drivetime, Jacqui is joined by Siddharth Kashyap, Consulting Partner at Tata Consultancy Services, to explore the systems, processes and data behind the modern automotive customer journey. Drawing on 15 years in the automotive industry, Siddharth explains why transformation should begin by identifying where the journey breaks, rather than immediately blaming the technology. They discuss the growing problem of “system spaghetti”, including retailer groups navigating around 27 applications across OEM and retail environments. Siddharth stresses that poor processes can’t be fixed by sophisticated technology alone, and why businesses need to address process first, then data, and finally architecture. The conversation also explores why change management is often the greatest hurdle in a transformation programme. Going live is only the beginning. For technology to deliver value, the people using it every day must be involved early, understand what it offers them and see how it removes administrative friction from their roles.

He also introduces his filed patent for an autonomous EV charging solution, designed to combine vehicle data with charger availability, pricing, booking and navigation. Finally, he discusses work to create an orchestration layer that allows OEM and retailer systems to exchange information seamlessly, removing duplicate data entry and simplifying the experience for users.

Drivetime is the global auto tech podcast powered by Keyloop.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Gear Change episode of Drivetime, Jacqui continues the conversation with James Crouch, Marketing Communications Director at Mazda UK. They dive deeper into his experience helping drive digital adoption across Mazda Europe and what marketers can learn from the industry's ongoing transformation. James reflects on his time as part of a specialist European team tasked with shaping Mazda's digital future, from building data infrastructure and defining use cases to creating the foundations that support modern customer journeys today. The conversation also explores the growing importance of influencer marketing, why retailers shouldn't overcomplicate creator partnerships, and how data is becoming the engine behind every marketing decision. Plus, James shares the technology he can't live without, the innovation he's most excited about, and his dream automotive road trip.

Drivetime is the global auto tech podcast powered by Keyloop.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it take to evolve a heritage automotive brand through 15 years of digital disruption? In this episode of Drivetime, Jacqui sits down with James Crouch, Marketing Communications Director at Mazda UK, to explore how automotive marketing has transformed from dealer magazines and TV campaigns to influencers, AI, streaming partnerships and digital customer journeys.

Together, they discuss the enduring appeal of the Mazda brand, the importance of Japanese craftsmanship, and how Mazda is balancing innovation with authenticity. The conversation explores the rise of influencer marketing, the changing role of TV advertising, Mazda's partnership with HBO Max, and how AI is forcing marketers to rethink everything from content discovery to customer attribution.

They also unpack Mazda's approach to electrification, why the brand describes itself as "distinctively Japanese", and how retailers can navigate the rapid pace of technological change without getting left behind.

Drivetime is the global auto tech podcast powered by Keyloop.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.