London, 4 June 2019 — Investments in the automotive industry are increasingly being channeled towards enhancing electric portfolios, achieving higher levels of automation, and meeting rising customer demand for digital convenience. As electric, connected and autonomous trends unleash widespread disruption, auto manufacturers are expected to retain their relevance by investing in scalable, sustainable, cost-effective and flexible platforms that can support current demands and future innovations.
To assess how this technology-driven transformation will play out, Frost & Sullivan will host a panel discussion, ‘Future Mobility Use Cases for Electric, Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Platforms’, as part of its Intelligent Mobility flagship event at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower in London on 11 July 2019. The session will delve into the key technological, market and policy trends that will shape the mobility industry’s landscape over the long term.
Frost & Sullivan will evaluate these and many other emerging use cases and business models for new, innovative mobility solutions at its annual Intelligent Mobility event, taking place at the Jumeirah Carlton Hotel in London, on 10th and 11th July 2019.
To register for Frost & Sullivan’s Intelligent Mobility event or to view the agenda, please visit www.intelligentmobilityevent.com
Electric vehicles (EVs) account for a progressively greater share of automakers’ vehicle portfolios. Strict regulations and customer expectations for more environmentally friendly and efficient vehicles are providing an impetus to this trend.
The industry is fast approaching a tipping point where EVs are no longer viewed as being niche, unique vehicle platforms but can be introduced across automakers’ vehicle line-ups. However, for this to materialise as envisaged, identifying the right vehicle platform strategy, chassis technologies, and battery chemistries will be crucial.
“Platform strategies are a hot-button topic at the moment with automakers having the choice of three possible approaches: altering their current platforms to introduce electrification, developing flexible platforms that can house multiple powertrain options, or creating dedicated EV platforms,” explained Benny Daniel, Vice President, Consulting, for Frost & Sullivan’s Mobility practice. “The final choice will be based on their vehicle portfolios and annual vehicle sales.”
Simultaneously, customer expectations that their digital lifestyle choices will be mirrored in their vehicles are intensifying. This is spurring automakers to look beyond applications related to in-vehicle safety and convenience towards providing a more comprehensive, immersive digital experience.
To this end, automakers are seeking partnerships with technology companies outside the traditional value chain. The inherent danger here is that, over a period of time, they could lose their preeminent position in the automotive value chain and instead be relegated to becoming system suppliers to mobility and technology companies. To neutralise this threat, automakers will need to adopt a more customer-centric approach to vehicle design and value creation.
The third spoke in the wheel—autonomous—is often hailed as the answer to a host of urban mobility challenges. The successful real-world implementation of autonomous vehicles will depend on devising an effective solution that is safe, convenient, and cost-effective. However, system development for autonomous vehicles is challenging, especially if the aim is to scale it to multiple business models and regions.
“Cost synergies will force OEMs to focus either on deploying autonomous technology across both ownership and usership business models or, if they do not have the capabilities to run these two revenue streams in parallel, to outsource the technology development or licence it to other providers,” said Daniel. “This will be the only cost-effective way to scale autonomous development.”
Overall, automakers and technology players will have to make critical decisions regarding the right platforms and use cases for connectivity, electrification and autonomous technologies. Their success and the smooth transition of the industry into a new era of mobility will depend on this.
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For more information, please contact:
Kristina Menzefricke
T: +44 (0) 208 996 8589
E: kristina.menzefricke@frost.com
