The automotive world changes. Electric cars appear and the industry struggles to adapt to a world economy increasingly unstable. Here is what changes can we expect in the near future and how it will look the automotive world in 2025.
According to a study conducted by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, the automotive world will radically change in the next 15 years. The consulting firm has talked to 60 experts from auto industry and identified 10 trends which the automotive world will follow in the coming years. Changes in the global economy, political issues and changes in the public preferences will change the automotive industry. Here are the 10 trends:
1. Moving towards Asia
The car production will move drastically to the Asian continent. China and other Asian countries didn’t feel the global crisis and the economic growth rate is still high. In addition, labor is cheap. Consultants and industry experts consider that almost 300,000 auto jobs in Europe will be sacrificed. The first signs are already visible: Nissan Micra production was moved from Europe to India. It is possible in the near future that Opel will move all the SUV production or even lower class (Corsa) in South Korea.
2. Small cars are gaining ground
The mini car segment will grow. These are more environmentally friendly, are more practical in urban agglomerations, easier to park and cheaper to maintain. Demand for personal mobility will increase, and the car segment A/B is a good answer. In the coming years, small and very small cars will increase in all markets, even in the United States. The only market where customers will still prefer large cars is China. But experts say the trend of small cars will enter China after 2025.
Low-cost cars will become increasingly popular for reasons of customers budget. Even if Tata Nano has failed, there will be other attempts. Until then already exists cars like Suzuki Alto or Hyundai i10.
3. Fewer cars
The car loses its place as a symbol of wealth. At least among the young, the logo on the hood has come to matter less. Young people under 30 years will be satisfied to drive a car only when they really need to have one. For them, electronic gadgets represent more interesting things to spend money on. This phenomenon was first identified in large cities, where young people have given up personal car for public transportation or other mobility solutions (bicycles, scooters, etc.).
4. Not quite electric
Increased attention given pollution and CO2 emissions led to increasingly tougher regulations for the automotive manufacturers. Thus, the electric car start to make its place as a solution to urban mobility. But projections for growth are grim. At best, in 2025 the proportion of electric cars sold will be 10%. The proportion of hybrid cars will be 40% while cars with conventional engines (petrol and diesel) will still be responsible for 50% of new cars market.
5. Non-Stop Internet
In 2025, most cars will be permanently connected to the Internet. They send and receive information through this environment. Cars will communicate with each other in order to avoid situations such as traffic congestions or accidents. However, intelligent solutions for automated driving will be developed also after this year. Although BMW has the autopilot technology, yet doesn’t dares to launch it.
6. Changing the business model
The major names from the automotive world will have to face competition from low-cost models. Also, by 2025, events like car-sharing should be taken into account by auto manufacturers. A common used car can replace up to 38 cars, says Roland Berger study. In addition, the cars will be increasingly sold online. The new generation doesn’t want to go into the showrooms. Just as buying an electronic product online, so they will want to buy cars.
7. Lack of specialists
The cars are built by people. And the population is aging in most countries. Thus a lack of engineers and professionals specialized in the automotive industry appears. The problem already began to be visible in Germany, where increasingly more and more engineers have ages between 55 and 64 years old. As expected, Germany will have in 2025 a deficit of 1.8 million specialists.
8. Globalisation
Auto manufacturers develop cars specific for each auto-market. Many models with the same name are different depending on the market for sale. But more recently, manufacturers have begun to rely on global products that look the same on all world markets. For example, after years in which they produced different models for Europe and America, Ford launched its new Focus like a global product.
9. Flexibility
The auto industry should learn from other sectors and become more flexible. At present, the pattern is simple: invest heavily to build a car factory, this operates non-stop to produce large volumes of vehicles which dealers have to sell offering various stimulants. The new generation hardly appreciate this system. Simply, young people do not care about the current system. They want a simple car to meet their mobility needs and not pushed in front by the auto industry. Hyundai seems to be a car manufacturer who understood and become flexible. It quickly adapted to the specific requirements of Europe and produces cars after the European taste. Toyota, on the other hand, seems to react more difficult to the new trends, and its models are considered conservative.
10. Fewer auto manufacturers
To survive, the auto manufacturers have joined in alliances. Fiat and Chrysler merged and began to build common models. AvtoVaz/Lada was integrated in the Renault-Nissan alliance thus Dacia Logan is sold on the Russian market under the Lada logo. Such moves will be increasingly more frequent in the future.
Credit: Car-Addicts.com (www.car-addicts.com)
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