When thinking about the future of vehicle development, it’s easy to get excited about the possibilities of 5G, autonomous driving and smart transportation. While the technologies and software are mostly ready, the laws and regulations needed to ensure everything works safely and effectively are still catching up. According to Cubic3 CEO Barry Napier, that’s something of a blessing in disguise for automakers, giving them space to refine the user experience and business models that take full advantage of connectivity. He believes there has been a massive shift in the last 18 months, with OEMs now focused heavily on getting the customer experience right.
Autonomous vehicles are still a while away – even suggesting five years is a little bullish – but while governing bodies develop and agree frameworks, the next three-to-five years will be all about user experience and value-added services. That’s where automakers can have an impact and gain real-time insights into user experience now. And that’s where you’re going to see customisation efforts.
Building connected experiences
In the past, software-defined vehicles came with limited services and features beyond their pre-set capabilities. Manufacturers rarely had any real insight into how customers were using them – if at all. As discussed at the Financial Times Future of the Car 2022 conference, two of the key challenges to driving customer use of new mobility services and technologies are ease of use and relevance to customers. Napier believes that automakers with the capacity to hone services around user insights will be the most successful in the future. He says:
By deriving insights from how customers actually engage with and use your features and services, you can customise or further enhance those features, update them overnight or even change the interface regularly to keep the user engaged, interacting and always enjoying the experience. From a brand perspective, automakers will be able to align those premium experiences with their own brand values and vehicles
Make it personal, make it local, make it relevant
Napier stresses that the key to success lies in making services personal, relevant and localised. Different regions have different needs and regulations that must be considered when delivering connected experiences.
When we talk about personalisation and customisation, how someone uses a vehicle in London is completely different to how they do it in Munich or New York. And while data monetisation and the data explosion continue to be a big deal for automakers, if you’re not focusing on personalisation and localisation, you’re missing a big step.
Taking complexity out of mobility
For automakers, getting localisation right can be challenging, especially when operating across multiple countries with different regulations. Napier explains technology issues, like the recent chip shortage, adds even more pressure, “But it’s also difficult for automakers to connect with a service provider in a local area really quickly. Global OEMs operate in hundreds of countries, each with their own set of regulatory challenges, taxes etc. And that’s before you consider the technology challenges that OEMs are working on.”
“With the recent chip shortage, there’s a massive shift to the cloud and trying to do as much processing there as possible. There are so many dependencies; before, when a vehicle went out, people weren’t thinking of lifecycle management based on connectivity, on getting to the cloud. Now that these on-demand features are coming, the pressure is there to focus on cloud solutions. For that, you have to get connectivity right from the beginning.”
Driving performance with connected software
Cubic3’s advanced software solutions help OEMs maximise customer lifetime value. Our seamless, global connectivity enables OEMs to sclae while our real-time insights into data usage and user experience, ensure they deliver enhanced in-vehicle experiences to their customers.
