The automotive industry is in a state of transition, one that has been taking place slowly over the last few years but was affected somewhat due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now, 2 years later, we see a new market emerge not only for Electric Vehicles but also for some other proposed changes that the car manufacturing leaders have in mind to envision a more technological future. Whether all these changes and proposals take place, is a matter of wait-and-see.
However, most of these trends exist in some manner or the other and have million-dollar industries backing them up. It’s only a matter of time to see when all these top 5 car trends will become a concrete reality.
Electric Vehicles (EVs) have been on the market for a few years now after being the stuff of experiments and science fiction for nearly a century. Tesla Model 3 is the perfect example of how far we’ve come in this domain, and yet this is just the beginning. International electric car sales increased to 6.6 million the year before, accounting for over 9% of the global automobile industry, which was three times more than its customer base back in 2019, and analysts predict this trend to continue moving upwards as we head into 2023.
From apps to digital transactions, the global car market has seen an all-time high reliance on consumers using digital technology. This influence will also grow exponentially as more people not only buy cars online but also use numerous car-sharing apps available to make everyday life easier to manage in bigger cities. Experts expect a rise in carpool apps as soon as autonomous driving becomes a commercially viable feature. Apart from this, EVs like Tesla also get updates and security patches online too, making digital technology a vital part of its infrastructure and framework.
Leaning a little more into what we said in the previous point, Autonomous Vehicles (Avs) are another concept that’s been played around with for a few years now. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) like cruise control or parking assistance have already existed commercially and they will continue to get better, however, AVs like Waymo have also started sprouting up and 2023 sees the race to get the first AV on the road take on a new life. According to a recent analysis by Renub Research, a research and consulting firm, the market for AVs will grow to $186 billion by 2030, increasing from $4 billion in 2021.
As internet connectivity strengthens with the introduction of 5G technology and the Internet of Things taking over the world, analysts predict that cars will be more connected in the future. This connectivity is twofold: Car2X and Car2Car. So between cars, for example, between Avs and other Avs or between Avs and external factors like traffic lights. As well as between cars and their users, better GPS, more options and better features to interact with your car, all are said to be on the brink of being revolutionary. The ultimate stage of this connectivity is being able to basically use your car as your laptop and phone between journeys or while traveling in it.
The car market in recent years has become rather slow to changes in demand and supply. With gas prices being how they have been, and car prices being reflective of that, people haven’t really been upgrading their rides. In fact, the average time it has taken an ordinary person to update and upgrade their car has been 5-8 years! However, experts predict this model to change in the coming few years, as more and more people climb the EV bandwagon, smaller or even annual updates have the ability to become a reality as the industry becomes more innovative and car prices drop.
As the industry grows and develops more and more challenges also come to the surface, as is the case with any technological-led transition and transformation. However, moving to electric or automated vehicles has the potential to benefit more than harm the human race. With its decreased reliance on fossil fuels and its efficient use of precious resources, time will tell if it truly helps the planet but it has all the ingredients needed to change a resource-heavy industry into a cleaner and greener market.