What’s driving the automotive sector in 2022 must be a big question but what’s has driven the automotive market in 2021 can turn man heads. With autonomous moving a one step forward towards more autonomous and in-vehicle automotive witnessing the connected future, 2021 can reclaimed as astronger move towards, smart connected and green automobile. Information-centric technologies are playing an important role in the future of the automobile industry. The industry is adopting new technologies in its operations at an unprecedented scale. In addition to technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data & analytics that have been around for while, newer technologies such as the internet of things (IoT) and blockchain also find numerous applications in automotive.
Key Trends for the Automotive Industry in 2022
Emerging companies are working to build the first fully autonomous vehicle for city roads, which in turn accelerates the advancements in-vehicle connectivity and IoT. Further, as countries look to move away from fossil fuel use, a significant number of emerging electrification startups develop electric vehicles and the associated charging infrastructure. Another way to reduce the number of cars on the road involves promoting and creating shared mobility solutions that include first and last-mile connectivity along with urban mass transit reports Startus Insights.
The Key Trends & Innovations Also Includes:
- Autonomous Vehicles (AVs): 2021 has seen the autonomous vehicle sector take some important strides forward, with both Japan and Germany officially approving ‘conditional eyes-off’ Level 3 autonomous driving on public roads. New legislation passed in both countries establishes the requirements for Automated Lane Keeping System (ALKS) ADAS technology to be recognised in law, with Mercedes recently claiming to be the first OEM to satisfy the standards stipulated for international use, after Honda first released a system that met Japanese requirements back in March. Meanwhile, the UK and more EU countries are expected to follow Germany and Japan’s lead and pass similar legislation in 2022 reports Autonomousvehicleinternational.com. Self-driving or autonomous vehicles minimize the need for human drivers and look poised to transform everyday transportation. Fleets of AVs expand the scope of last-mile deliveries, reduce downtime, and aim to make public transportation relatively safer. For example, by reducing accidents caused due to driver fatigue or negligence. AVs are equipped with advanced recognition technologies, such as AI-enhanced computer vision to identify obstacles along the route.
Europe, the UK and Japan, and others follow UNECE regulations, and in January 2021, UNECE allowed the use of automated lane keep assist on public roads. This meant that drivers would be able to disengage from the task of driving under certain conditions including:
- Vehicle speed below 60kph (37mph)
- Operating on roads where pedestrians are not permitted (i.e. motorways/highways)
- Driver is given a 10s warning to re-engage.
- Inclusion of driver ability recognition system
These last two are possibly the most important as they control the transition of liability from the vehicle to the driver. Furthermore, if the driver ability recognition system detects that the driver is unable to regain control (e.g. if they have unintentionally fallen asleep), then the vehicle is to get itself into as safe a position as possible.
- Vehicle Connectivity: Innovative automakers, software developers and technology companies are leading a radical transformation in the automotive industry. They are refining and redefining existing technologies and introducing new, exciting concepts like artificial intelligence, V2X and automotive connectivity to give us a future driving experience that is safer, more efficient, and more luxurious than any we’ve ever known. Nowadays, vehicles come with a tamper-proof digital identity that differentiates them from other vehicles in the network. This enables easy tracking of vehicular data for various use cases such as insurance, driver safety, predictive maintenance, and fleet management. Sharing vehicular data helps not just the individual customer, but overhauls the entire mobility ecosystem. Startups and scaleups develop vehicle connectivity solutions that enable them to connect and exchange data with other vehicles (V2V), an electric vehicle grid (V2G), public infrastructure (V2I), as well as with new and emerging ways to utilize vehicle data (V2X). In the next five years, 75% of all cars produced will be connected, an increase from 50% today. As we prepare for the not-so-distant future, let’s look at the seven most talked and written about automotive connectivity trends that are shaping the way we will soon take to the road.
Trends Driving Automotive Connectivity
In the past 25 years, the road vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine has undergone a more extensive transformation than it had in the previous century. The last 25 years have been witnessing increasing standardization, platform sharing, and computer-aided design in the automotive industry. We have also seen rapidly rising fuel efficiency and engine output. Technology that enhances the driving experience – such as GPS navigation systems, rear-view cameras, and keyless ignition – is common in today’s car. These features are not merely accepted, but expected, by car buyers.
More importantly, connectivity is essential to both autonomous vehicles and smart cities. The majority of the technological advances in automobiles have been focused on improving safety and providing simple user conveniences, such as GPS navigation. In modern vehicles, much of the technological magic takes place underneath the hood, behind the dashboard, and through sensors that are mounted in the panels. It’s made a difference.
The advent of these safety-centric technologies and the inevitable departure of human operators from vehicles have motivated the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in partnership with the National Transportation Safety Board and several nongovernmental organizations, such as the National Safety Council, to implement its Road to Zero initiative. Major public policy influencers have teamed up in this partnership to eliminate traffic fatalities in 30 years by addressing issues of roadway behaviour and vehicle usage. New technologies will lead the way to this goal. (Reference: https://carjasoos.com/car-blog/7-automotive-connectivity-trends-fuelling-the-future/)
- Electrification: The Government started Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME) scheme which provides incentives for purchasing electric vehicles. Phase I of the scheme lasted from 2015 to 2019, while Phase II began in 2019 and is planned to be completed in 2022. The depleting fossil fuel reserves and the harm to the environment caused by their use call for promoting the use of electric mobility solutions. For greater adoption, EVs need to address issues such as high price, poor battery, inadequate charging infrastructure, fleet electrification, as well as powering renewable energy-based charging grids. These challenges, along with the need to tackle increasing greenhouse gas emissions across the world, startups are working on electrification solutions. EVs can get cleaner over their lifetimes as the energy that powers them gets cleaner. India is already deploying renewables at a healthy rate, and a delay in switching to EVs would result in, among other things, a failure to capture the full gains possible from the cleaner grid as it materializes. And passenger cars are often on the road for 15 years in India.
Figure. State-level variation in population weighted PM2.5 concentrations (μg/m3) by scenario. Absolute values for Baseline (the only scenario in which EV sales remain low) and ratios calculate the values of other scenarios relative to Baseline in the same year. REF = No additional power sector measures. IEC = Improved power plant emission controls. CP = Ambitious phase-out of coal power plants. COM = Combined IEC and CP.
Key Trends To Drive Electrification of Autmobiles
- Battery Innovation: It’s essential to have a battery that supports all of a vehicle’s primary functions and gives drivers longer drive times. Continued improvements open the door to potential buyers in areas where the density of charging stations remains lackluster. Most manufacturers are optimizing vehicle stamina by using improved lithium-ion models, which have good energy density and long life cycles. In the past, these have been prohibitively expensive, but continued industry innovations and mass production are changing that. Battery suppliers are also focused on decreasing the charge time. By experimenting with electrode composition, some models may be able to reach capacity in a matter of minutes, even with the inefficient charging infrastructure currently in place.
- Charging Station Expansion and Improvements: Infrastructure professionals continue to analyze new ways that improve power and decrease charge time at stations. The global electric vehicle charging station market reached a value of US$ 6.97 Billion in 2021. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach US$ 51.25 Billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 39.60% during 2022-2027. The EV charging infrastructure market size growing at 15% CAGR during 2021 to 2028 and projected to reach $23,395.77 million by 2028 from $8,805.35 million in 2021. The Asia-Pacific dominated the market in 2020 with a share of 45.2% and is expected to continue its dominance by 2028. Europe is the second-largest contributor to the global market in 2020, followed by North America.
- Electrification of Commercial Vehicles: Due to increasingly strict emission regulations, many public and private organizations are making the move to electric vehicle fleets. Consider that Amazon recently purchased 100,000 electric vans as part of its pledge to go carbon neutral in the next two decades. Experts anticipate that sales for these types of vans will rise 31% during that time frame. In the municipal sector, electric buses for public and school transit are expected to make up roughly 70% of the global fleet by 2040. However, the issue of electrification in relation to commercial vehicles is not just confined to the drive itself. Tools, air-conditioning systems as well as superstructures and attachments can be electrified. In hybrid models, some of the power used to drive them comes from a combustion engine – the electric drive supplies the additional torque to deal with peak loads.
- Shared Mobility: With connected vehicles, new business models have come up that focus on shared mobility as an alternative to traditional vehicle ownership. This enables mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) and discourages unused vehicles. Such solutions meet the requirements of a city or a business without adding new vehicles, thus reducing waiting time for fleets and pollution caused by petrol or diesel vehicles.
- Artificial Intelligence: Artificial intelligence technologies such as machine learning, deep learning, and computer vision find applications in robotic automation within the automotive industry. These guide self-driving cars, manage fleets, assist drivers to improve safety, and improve services such as vehicle inspection or insurance. AI also finds applications in automotive manufacturing, where it accelerates the rate of production and helps reduce costs.
ADAS Key to the Future of Automotive
ADAS will be a crucial part of this transition. Though ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) is no more a new technology, disrupting the automotive industry in general, yet the penetration of ADAS is significantly low in various countries. The adoption of ADAS highly varies from vehicle to vehicle and geographically as well. The range of ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) is increasing with significant pace and not just since connected cars and autonomous driving has come increasingly to the fore of the automotive industry. Installation of ADAS has also gained pace in economic range passenger vehicles. Owing to the increasing demand for advanced features pertaining to safety and comfort in passenger and commercial vehicles, the global ADAS market is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period. ADAS such as adaptive cruise control (ACC), autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and lane keeping assist (LKA) are improving the business case for commercial vehicles. Truck platooning is anticipated to be one of the next technologies to commercialize in this space. For truck platooning, automated driving support and connectivity technology will be required. This in turn will increase the ADAS penetration in trucks and subsequently will drive the global ADAS market growth. Market introduction of ADAS is facing three primary challenges which are impeding its penetration – consumer awareness & understanding, pricing and safety concerns. Lack of awareness could hamper the market of ADAS. Further, vehicles fitted with advanced driver assistance systems cost relatively higher than conventional vehicles. Subsequently, the number of consumers in developing countries and nations with low per capita GDP are relatively lower than developed countries. Additionally, lack of technological advancements in the several countries will decelerate the growth of the ADAS in those region.
Overall the automotive future globally seems electrifying with developing economies making strict proposals and policies towards a sustainable future of automotive keeping the ‘Green Deed’ in mind.
