Building a car is never easy. Engineers need to design, build, and test countless components, chassis, and prototypes before the car ever makes it to the showroom.
Then comes performance testing, with manufacturers chasing impressive numbers like 0-100 kph speeds or increased fuel efficiency and range. Here’s the thing–most drivers will never hit these numbers in real life.
For example, how often does a car with a 200-mile range actually travel 200 miles without a break? Most drivers will stop for coffee or a restroom break halfway through. So, does chasing these figures really matter?
Instead, automakers should focus on learning from tech companies. By gathering real-world data on how people use their cars, manufacturers can decide what their next product should do. Many are already doing just that.
Speed that matters
Let’s take two Volkswagen hatchbacks for example –the all-electric ID.3 and the decidedly unelectric Golf GTI, which accelerate from 0-50 kph within 0.2- seconds of each other. The Golf manages to hit 100 kph an entire second faster than the ID.3. But when was the last time you, or anyone, went from 0-60 on the public road?
For most drivers, the 0-50 kph time is far more useful when they’re looking to overtake a bus, pull away from the lights, or navigate a roundabout.
Data drives decisions
The same goes for infotainment features. Manufacturers can offer Apple Car Play, Android Auto, and other services, but they have no way of knowing which services and features drivers actually use. If no drivers were using Android Auto, would it make sense for the manufacturer to keep offering it?
This is where real-world data comes in. While many cars have telematics boxes to report back information about the car’s general health and how it’s being driven, there has been precious little insight into how everything else in the car is being used.
The power of insightsNow, for the first time, manufacturers can access complete visibility over data usage split across the services their connected vehicles offer, with solutions like Insights3. Insights3 is a network function virtualisation that can track granular car data usage by service – whether it’s Google Maps for navigation or AccuWeather for weather updates, Insights3 gives automakers a look at how services are being used across global fleets.
For example, they can see how usage varies across different models or demographics, allowing OEMs to fine-tune their offerings. With data gathered by Inisghts3, the manufacturer can optimise the driver experience by offering the right services to the right vehicles, thereby boosting the lifecycle value.
Insights3 helps OEMs visualise data across entire fleets, making it easy to digest massive amounts of data into actionable insights.
Why vehicle data is the secret ingredient in development
Once OEMs gather and analyse vehicle data, they can put everything they’ve learnt into action.
By understanding these insights at scale, manufacturers will be able to create cars that perfectly fit the needs of users. In the future, development decisions could be taken without the need for extended user testing and evaluation because manufacturers already have the data to prove that customers want these features.
In the same way that Volkswagen was able to adapt the ID.3 to accelerate quickly to work well in traffic, manufacturers that utilise cabin data will be able to make a car that works intuitively for users.
Small improvements and optimisations like these might seem minor but, for drivers, these are the types of improvements that lead to happier drivers and potentially, repeat customers.
