The new age of digitalization has transformed multiple aspects of a business at large-scale, providing beyond-expectation opportunities for value creation, while drawing a major source of risk as well. Automotive is one of the industries undergoing a major transformation with relentless advances in digital technologies, fast-changing customer needs, pervasive connectivity, and environmental regulations, among others. IoT, Internet, connected and wireless solutions are also transforming the automotive industry. It is predicted that growing digitalization and advancements in technology will increase automotive investments to US$82 billion by 2020.
The automotive industry is at a crossroads where the vehicle itself as well as consumer experiences are rapidly making the transition from the physical to digital. In order to capitalize on these disruptions, automakers will need to shift from their conventional disconnected and analog manufacturing methods to an absolutely connected and digitized environment.
Here are the top automotive trends every company should look for in 2020 and beyond to garner more opportunities and drive business excellence.
Heightened Digitalization of Vehicles
Digitalization, particularly continuously increasing automation and the emergence of new business models have transformed the automotive industry in recent years. This has led automakers to adapt to the new environment. Drivers, in today’s digital age, expect the same level of connectivity from their vehicles they get from their smartphones, tablets, and tech wearables. That level of connectivity involves everything from high-quality infotainment systems for passengers to assisted driving and parking with payment from the dashboard. This level of digitalization has the potential to recast how people use transportation and how businesses generate value for industry and society.
Improved Car Buying Process
Today, as customers are equipped with digital technologies with every information at their fingertips, they are exploring for new cars online before stepping out to the dealership. For instance, auto giant Toyota has joined forces with some digital transformation companies to create an augmented reality system that requires no mobile application at all and enables consumers to get to know the car models without even requiring setting foot in the brand showroom. Using VR capabilities, auto companies can allow consumers to see inside and outside of their potential new model, as well as hear authentic sound effects with 360 degrees. Even websites like TrueCar and Edmunds, all germane buying information is available in a second and at the click of a button.
Predictive Maintenance
For organizations with a large vehicle fleet, staying on top of maintenance schedules is a major challenge. In the trucking industry, for instance, vehicle downtime can cost between US$448-US$760 per day, per vehicle. Thus, to address this unplanned maintenance downtime, businesses often opt to plan by adhering to preventative maintenance schedules. Many companies realized the significance of predictive maintenance as it has strong results, which include improvements of more than 30 percent in truck uptime and predicting failure 30 days in advance with an accuracy rate of 90 percent.
Advanced Security
Using data-driven decisions for driving vehicles safely is making significant uptick in the automotive market growth. It is being done with the collection of data about drivers, their destinations, routes, traffic patterns and more by smart vehicles. This data collected then is used to communicate with and engage drivers in order to alert drivers regarding safety issues. On the other hand, concern over data theft is also a major challenge in the automotive industry. Hence, to ensure the security of drivers’ data, manufacturers need to make data security a major priority. And the latest models of the vehicle manufactured boast innovative technology that can meet that security needs.
