The number of vehicles with electric engines is expected to increase from 5% (today) to 25% by 2025. In fact, most of those will be hybrids, and 95% of cars will still use fossil fuels in some capacity. Automakers must make internal combustion engines more efficient to comply with new standards.
As other industries have been revolutionized by technology, automation, and new business models, the automotive industry will be no different as it embraces these changes. Ultimately, these forces are contributing to the emergence of four disruptive trends in the automotive sector that are driven by technology:
- Diversifying mobility
- Electrification
- Autonomous driving
- Connectivity
What does the future look like?
Despite continued growth in global car sales, the annual growth rate is expected to drop from 3.6% in the past five years to around 2% by 2030. New mobility services such as car-sharing and e-hailing will contribute to this drop.
Whether you’re new to the world of cars or you’re someone who knows everything about them, the automotive trends showcased here will help to prepare you for what’s coming next.
Electric cars
The automotive industry is bracing for a wave of electric cars over the next five years. Over 936,100 electric vehicles were delivered by Tesla in 2021, breaking the previous record.
New entrants like Faraday Future, Apple, and Google could shake things up even more. Of course, it’s unclear whether people will buy electric cars in widespread numbers, but if they do, it won’t be because of hype around any company.
Cars are becoming increasingly connected, which is opening up new security vulnerabilities. Data-only telematics could be a game-changer for vehicle security—it’s already being used to monitor driving behavior. Still, it could also ensure drivers pay attention while behind the wheel.
Blockchain in vehicles is another emerging technology that could help prevent car cyberattacks.
Self-driving cars become a reality
The first self-driving cars were introduced in 1939. Each model drives itself using radar, sonar, lidar, GPS, computer vision, and other sensors to map its surroundings.
Every day millions of data points are transmitted via Wi-Fi Hotspots allowing vehicles to communicate with each other. This is called vehicle-to-vehicle communication (V2V).
V2V uses a protocol for direct communication between cars and road infrastructure, such as traffic lights, stop signs, bridges, and speed limit signs. This technology will enable cars to avoid accidents by warning drivers of hazardous conditions. In addition, autonomous driving systems use cameras, radar sensors, GPS navigation systems, and LIDAR laser rangefinders to monitor their surroundings.
New materials dominate car design – Vegan-Friendly Cars
New materials such as graphene, aerogels, and carbon fiber composites have become commonplace across car design. Animal-free alternatives to leather and wool are available for every vehicle component.
To make cars energy efficient, they are lighter than they were, thanks to new manufacturing processes that use renewable electricity sources. As a result, the weight of a car can be reduced by 10% without compromising on safety or performance.
Vegan-friendly cars are a reality; you can buy them today.
Connected Vehicles
Around 84 million connected cars were on the road in the United States in 2021. According to estimates, the number of connected vehicles in the United States will exceed 305 million by 2035.
The automotive industry is moving towards connected vehicles, allowing data to be transmitted over wireless technology. In a connected car, information about road conditions, traffic patterns, weather hazards, accidents, and more can be relayed to other drivers.
There is also the opportunity to utilize infotainment systems for revenue generation purposes. This opens up new revenue streams for OEMs, but security must be a core concern during development to gain consumer trust in the technology. Embedding connected car infotainment security to protect the systems and Digital Rights Management will ensure that these high value assets are fully protected.
