Over the last 50 years, personal cars have been and continue to be a means of transportation and personal expression. Car ownership symbolizes freedom and independence, but this may very well change in a few years, as we’re about to see in this article.
Recent statistics show that sales of passenger cars are going to hit 77.7 million vehicles this year. This rapid surge in the automotive industry has generated a few major problems:
- Roads are congested all the time
- Cars have increased the pollution levels
- 90% of car crashes are caused by human error.
In this post, we’ll see how these issues are connected to the major trends which will dominate the automotive industry in 2018.
Let’s discover the predictions.
1. More Electric Cars
The popularity of electric cars has been expanding for the past couple of years.
In 2005, there were only a few hundreds of battery-powered cars on the roads. Ten years later, there were already more than 1 million vehicles.
In 2016, sales jumped 60% and so now there are more than 2 million electric cars on the road globally.
One of the main reasons why this surge occurs in a short amount of time is the fact that prices have dropped, more charging stations were installed and more car manufacturers launched new models.
China is the biggest market, the US is in the second place, and Europe in the third place. All of these regions account for more than 90% of all electric car sales.
In Norway, for example, nearly a third of all the cars that are sold are electric, which represents the highest proportion worldwide.
Porsche, Mercedes, Jaguar, BMW, Audi, Tesla, Nissan are just some of the car manufacturers which are going to release new electric car models in the next couple of years.
Volvo even made the announcement that all the cars that they’re going to produce starting 2019 will have an electric motor.
It’s safe to say that the electric cars revolution is only just starting and that in the next few years more car manufacturers will understand the importance of embracing the electric movement.
2. The Rise of Blockchain Technology
Blockchain is basically a technology through which a ledger is created where users can add new data, but can’t delete existing information.
All the information that goes into these documents is encrypted.
For the automotive industry, blockchain technology can be used in three main areas:
- Provenance and tracking. Each product development and its manufacturing history, such as how and where it was made, can be tracked.
- Lease and insurance. In the future, car insurances will be based on real-time car data. Toyota says they are already working on developing “usage-based insurance products”.
- Supply chain. The blockchain system eliminates the risk of having two databases of conflicting information. That way, people will have more confidence in the information they get access to.
Ultimately, blockchain will become a platform for collaboration for the auto, retail and financial industries which will have the purpose of streamlining processes.
3. Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality (AR) is slowly starting to get more traction in the automotive industry and has an immense potential to grow. Right now, the AR market is relatively small.
Here’s how it can be used in the auto industry:
- AR can also help manufacturers see the exact picture of how the car they’re building will perform once it’s finished. That way, certain parts can be modified during the early stages which can minimize the costs of the actual launch, because only accepted designs will go through.
- One of the most common uses we are going to see of AR is displaying information on windshields, such as navigation, speedometer or traffic warnings. This will be considered a safety feature for the driver because they won’t have to take their eyes off the road anymore.
AR in the automotive industry is a win-win for both drivers and car manufacturers. I’m excited to see which companies will decide to do more with this technology.
4. The Emergence of 3D Printing
In 2015, the world’s first 3D printed car, called The Strati, was printed live at the Detroit Motor Show. The Strati’s frame and panels were printed out of carbon fiber-infused plastic.
The car was engineered by Local Motors in conjunction with Sabic Innovative Plastics.
It took 44 hours to print the car which has 212 layers and it is fully recyclable. Local Motors CEO, Jay Rogers, says that their goal is to reduce the printing time to roughly 10 hours.
The price for the vehicle was set somewhere between $18,000 and $30,000.
After releasing the world’s first 3D printed car, Local Motors is now planning on releasing several new models in the LM3D series which will cost $53,000.
Even though 3D printing is not a brand new technology, it’s only now starting to gain more traction. In 2018, I’m hoping to see more companies taking advantage of 3D printing.
According to John Kawola, president of Ultimaker North America:
It’s important to think of 3D printing in auto manufacturing not just as an avenue for cost savings, but as an avenue for time gained back. With automotive manufacturers bringing in $3,221,000 per minute in revenue, every second of time saved equals more potential impact on the bottom line.
5. Interest in Big Data
In a recent report, McKinsey estimated that car big data monetization could reach $750 billion in revenue by 2030.
Because most of the newer car models have access to the internet, companies can now get access to all sort of information about the car.
McKinsey surveyed vehicle owners in their report and their findings showed that customers are interested in enabling features which collect data only if there’s something of value in it for them, if it respects their privacy and if the cost is worth the benefit.
Toyota, Ford, along with other car manufacturers are the first ones to make a big move in this direction. At the beginning of 2017, they announced that they created the SmartDeviceLink Consortium in order to manage the SYNC AppLink system, an open-source project.
The purpose of this project is to provide a software interface for developers, so that they can make their apps available through the vehicle.
I’m positive that in 2018 we’re going to see more cars with built-in features which allow cross-platform integrations. Moreover, our car will become pretty soon an extension of our home.
At least that’s what Ford and Volkswagen plan by integrating Amazon Echo into their cars in 2018.
What’s the Automotive Industry Trend You’re Most Excited About?
To be honest, I can’t really decide on one. Every trend is exciting and interesting in its own way and I can’t wait to see what else 2018 will bring to the table and what other challenges car manufacturers need to overcome.
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