Consumer trends in the automotive industry have long been powered—and characterized—by change. From shared mobility to carpooling and communal mobility, there has been a massive shift in how people move from point A to B. Now, the industry stands on the brink of a radical change in attitudes toward car ownership.
Yet to date, many services have struggled to deliver against what change demands, creating a perception that singular and one-sided solutions are not up to the job because personal mobility is too complex, too contextual and too diverse.
Meanwhile, consumers’ expectations continue to rise—especially around sustainability. People want more from their cars, and they want the companies behind them to deliver more, too.
OEMs need broad-based openness and courage to veer from the beaten track and embrace the era of technology in order to reinvent the automotive industry from the core. They need to integrate personal, shared and public transportation infrastructure into a seamless experience that adapts to the different needs of consumers. And they must address a set of underlying, accelerating trends that fall into two broad categories.
Human trends:
People are reluctant to accept compromises around mobility—a necessary part of modern life and society—and they are often blind to the contradictions that exist. For instance, on one hand they strive for the luxury and flexibility of owning a car, on the other hand they’re increasingly demanding more sustainable mobility solutions.
As a result, people feel torn between wanting to embrace greener lifestyles and not wanting to forgo the daily convenience of private mobility. They want everything at the same time and they expect OEMs to expand their offerings accordingly.
Meanwhile, cars are taking on new roles in people’s daily lives. Increasingly, they’re being reconsidered in terms of both functionality and usage. And as cars become more connected, flexible and adaptive, they’re offering many of the features of a home away from home.
Business trends:
OEMs need to rethink their entire business around people’s new demands and respond to the value created by digital experiences.
To do this, they need to scale flexible digital capabilities across both their main business and the entire value chain—from new points of sale and payment models to logistics, production and product innovation.
Challenged by new entrants, new digital disruptors and new partnerships, incumbents also need to embrace agile software delivery, fast iteration cycles and constant expansion of digital services as areas of growth.
