Smart initiatives best way forward for auto industry

By Lakshmi Manoj – Director – Growth & Strategy at Selfdrive 

Disruptive technology has become a driving factor in almost all sectors and the automotive industry is no exception. Powered by accelerating digitisation, this industry is breaking barriers created by the COVID-19 pandemic and is set to enter the future age in style with sleek, speedy and safe models. Whether it is Artificial Intelligence (AI), big data analytics or Internet of Things (IoT), technology has ignited astounding changes that leave no choice for the automotive industry except to catch up. Consumers clearly have a choice: To own or to subscribe, rent or lease – Mobility on Demand (MOD), which brings local public transportation and private transit options into one place.

Self-driving technology, subscriptions, on-demand mobility, electric vehicles (EVs), car sharing / AI based product offering, electric vehicles (EVs) are among the key trends that the industry is presently witnessing. 

Self-driving vehicles can sense the surrounding environment and navigate without human intervention since they rely on mapping algorithms and data obtained from multiple sensors. The model sensors include radar-like technical systems and a stereoscopic vision system, GPS, Optical Object Recognition and Real-time Positioning Systems.

The benefit of smart mobility, both for makers and users, has encouraged authorities to move in the right direction. Self-driving pods are changing the name of the game. The autonomous pod sector has been vying to create products and services aimed at eventually facilitating mass public transport through driverless technology. As of now, such pods can take visitors on selected routes. Rigorous tests ensure that even without a driver, the vehicles are safe while on the move and stop instantly when necessary.

On another front, more manufacturers are moving towards electric vehicles production. Rising fuel costs, falling battery prices and sleek models are attractive factors. New entrants in the market make it all the more economical. For the environmentally-conscious world, replacing conventional fossil fuel-driven vehicles with electric vehicles comes as a super option. 

By 2025, 25% of cars sold will have electric engines, up from 5% today. But most of those will be hybrids, and 95% of cars will still rely on fossil fuels for at least part of their power. Automakers will need to make internal combustion engines more efficient to comply with new standards, according to Goldman Sachs.

Telematics, a communication technology for the automobile industry based on wireless networks, is another front altering the trends in the automotive sector. Fleet management and efficiency, damage handling and re-charging or contactless on-demand rentals are all made easy thanks to telematics.

Thanks to technology, in the forthcoming years, the auto industry will further witness gargantuan changes and the powering of vehicles will be vastly different as against now.

Going by the trend, ‘Evolve with tech and times or be left behind’ is the unambiguous message to the automotive industry for the ensuing times.