Future Engineering Bets
Board Level Conversations on High Stakes Engineering Decisions
Designed for decision-makers navigating complex trade-offs between technology, capital, and risk.
Stream the latest episode now
Are European Car Makers in Trouble? | Future Engineering Bets
Is the EV transition going to plan… or starting to unravel?
With OEMs now reconsidering EV strategies, rising geopolitical tensions, and growing reliance on China across the supply chain, the industry is facing a complex set of challenges.
From surplus manufacturing capacity and shifting production strategies to the rise of hybrid powertrains, this episode explores how automotive players are adapting - and where capital should be placed next.
What’s in this episode:
- Key takeaways from the FT Future of the Car Summit
- Why OEMs need scale to make EVs profitable
- The reality of global overcapacity in automotive manufacturing
- China’s long-term strategy and supply chain dominance
- Why European OEMs are shifting back to hybrids
- The growing risk of dependency on China
- Energy costs and their impact on competitiveness
- Potential partnerships between European and Chinese OEMs
- What this all means for investors and supply chains
Chapters:
00:00 Intro & FT Future of the Car Summit
01:44 EV strategy challenges & profitability
02:55 Overcapacity & consolidation risk
03:20 OEM decisions & shift back to hybrids
04:20 Dependence on China & supply chain risk
05:15 Partnerships with Chinese OEMs
06:16 EV vs hybrid future
07:06 Energy costs & competitiveness
08:02 Production shift & future of manufacturing
09:08 Where should you invest?
11:04 Final thoughts
About Future Engineering Bets:
Future Engineering Bets is for CEOs, board members, and private equity investors making high-stakes decisions in electrification, energy transition, and advanced engineering strategy. Get a boardroom-level view of the engineering decisions shaping billions in capital investment and defining the future of automotive and mobility. Each episode breaks down the engineering, commercial, and strategic realities behind topics such as:
- Electric vehicles and the global EV transition
- Hybrid powertrains and the future of internal combustion
- Hydrogen, sustainable fuels, and emerging propulsion systems
- Product strategy and R&D investment at OEM and Tier 1 level
- Market dynamics across Europe, the US, and China
- The impact of regulation versus real consumer demand
If you are responsible for product direction, capital allocation, or technology strategy, this series will help you think more clearly about where to place your next bet.
About Fred Warner:
Fred Warner, Founder of 7Q Ltd (https://7q.ltd/), is a specialist partner and Chartered Engineer connecting capital investment with no nonsense value creation. With a background spanning motorsport, aerospace, automotive, clean tech, rail, and electronics - including experience across F1, Honeywell, GE, and Meggitt - Fred works with CEOs, boards, and investors on high stakes engineering and R&D programmes. Connect with Fred on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fred-warner/Show More
Recent conversations
Why Energy Management Drives Performance
With Mark Preston – Lola Yamaha ABT Team Principal
A board‑level conversation with Mark Preston (Lola Yamaha ABT Team Principal) on how elite motorsport organisations manage energy, performance, and risk under extreme regulatory and competitive constraints.
Drawing on experience from Formula One, Formula E, and Lola Cars, the discussion explores how disciplines such as energy management, predictive tools, and system optimisation inform decision‑making in automotive and advanced engineering beyond racing.
Industrial Risk or Strategy?
With Daniel Fung – Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC)
An unfiltered exploration of the UK’s innovation paradox – leading in R&D, yet struggling to scale. Featuring Dan Fung of the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), this conversation examines how funding, industrial strategy, and global competition collide at the point of commercialisation.
From China’s speed and supply chain dominance to the UK’s challenge of converting innovation into industry, it highlights where value is being lost – and what investors, policymakers, and operators need to recognise before opportunity shifts elsewhere.
WHy Hydrogen still hasn’t delivered
A grounded assessment of hydrogen fuel cells as an investment case in automotive
Drawing on firsthand experience, this episode explores why the technology continues to fall short of commercial reality – from infrastructure and logistics challenges to cost, energy density, and shifting OEM priorities. As capital moves back toward batteries, hybrids, and more scalable solutions, it highlights where hydrogen may still have a role – and where investors, operators, and policymakers risk misallocating resources.
What These Conversations Explore
Each Future Engineering Bets discussion breaks down the real drivers, constraints, and failure modes behind major engineering decisions, including:
The focus is on benefit realisation, technical deliverability, organisational reality, and capital discipline, factors that ultimately determine success or failure.
Who Future Engineering Bets Is For
This series is designed for leaders responsible for directional engineering decisions, including:
- CEOs shaping product and technology strategy
- Board directors overseeing engineering led businesses
- Private equity firms and capital investors deploying capital into complex technical environments
- Strategy, R&D, and CTO level leaders influencing long-term capability and valuation
If you are accountable for product direction, capital allocation, or technology strategy, these conversations are designed to help you think more clearly about where to place your next bet.
Why 7Q Created Future Engineering Bets
7Q partners with Boards, PE firms, shareholders and capital investors making irreversible engineering decisions – whether investing, intervening, or preparing for transition.
Future Engineering Bets exists to bring open, intelligent discussion to the types of engineering questions that are often simplified, politicised, or obscured in public debate – but which matter deeply inside boardrooms.
Hosted by Fred Warner
Future Engineering Bets is hosted by Fred Warner, Founder of 7Q and a Chartered Engineer with over 25 years’ experience across motorsport, aerospace, automotive, clean tech, rail, and electronics.
Fred works alongside CEOs, boards, and investors on highstakes engineering and R&D decisions, connecting capital investment with nononsense value creation. The series reflects his longstanding experience of how engineering decisions are made – and how organisations succeed or fail when complexity, regulation, and capital collide.
Want to Get Involved?
If you’re navigating high‑stakes engineering decisions – whether around product strategy, capital allocation, or technology direction – we welcome informed voices and perspectives into the conversation.