Trends to transform auto industry

The Toyota Concept-i vehicle is revealed during the Toyota press conference at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 4, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Frederic J. BROWN

Forecasting trends in the auto industry is a tricky business. A great number of people have tried but their efforts got confounded in a lot of cases due to the rise of new technologies and changing consumer preferences.

But the practice is still interesting so let’s have a look at some of this season’s prognostications:

If we want to know the future of mobility, a trip to the recent CES in Las Vegas would lead us to believe that we will soon have more intelligent, and at the same time, “emotional” cars.

Toyota’s Concept-i

Toyota’s Concept-i features an AI (artificial intelligence) agent nicknamed “Yui” that interacts with its owner from both the outside and the inside.

As the driver approaches the car, Yui displays the word “Hello” on the vehicle’s exterior and even gives a charming wink with one of its headlights.

Once inside, the driver (and passengers) enter an environment bathed in serene white and gold hues.

With no screens on the center dashboard, Concept-i displays information through a variety of interfaces, including holographic images, sound, vibration and light (colored lights in the foot wells provide an instant clue about whether the vehicle is in automated or manual drive).

And because it’s connected to social media, Yui may suggest a restaurant along the way that it knows the driver has been wanting to try.

Honda’s NeuV

Honda also shares the same belief with its new NeuV car that could artificially generate its own emotions.

Honda executives during the unveiling said the race to develop emotional vehicles was important because in the future, all cars will drive themselves, and what car buyers of that future will seek are cars they can have the best relationship with.

Talk about becoming one with your car—literally.

Self-driving cars improve

And with more intelligent cars, could fully autonomous vehicles be far behind?

While this type of vehicle may be commercially available three years from now, we could now see experimental cars/systems (Google’s “Koala,” Tesla’s Autopilot, Mercedes-Benz’s Drive Pilot) equipped with some sort of lane-assist feature that ensures the vehicle won’t drift out of lane as well as adaptive cruise controls that aid in maintaining a steady distance from the vehicle in front.

Just like what is already installed in some of today’s vehicle models, these experimental cars could also detect obstructions ahead or anything that suddenly crosses its path so it could apply the brakes.

It would not be surprising if these same cars could be taught to drive from a parking space outside your house to a parking space outside your office with no one touching the steering wheel or even sitting in the car at all (it could use Apple, Google Maps or Waze for navigation for point-to-point directions as well as crowd-sourced accident, traffic, and speed-trap reports).

Just like the demise of cassette tape decks, buttons and knobs will soon disappear.

Their replacements are already here: touchscreen, capacitive touch, and soon, voice and gesture activated controls.

Better ride sharing

After disrupting the taxi business, ridesharing and other mobility services will continue to disrupt the automobile and transportation industry, particularly car rentals, this year.

Ease of use is cited as the top reason for using the service, explaining that being able to open an app and summon a car to any location was very much favored.

Passengers, especially millennials, appreciate the peer-to-peer network, as passengers always know who they’re getting into a car with, and the two-way ratings system keeps both drivers and passengers on their best behavior.

Because of this trend, car companies expect stronger sales of their models more suited to ride-sharing (vehicles that offer spacious interior, more fuel-efficient engines, and sturdier suspension and underbody).

New game face for dealers

Growing competitions among car brands and evolving customer preferences will cause dealers to step up aftersales and customer relationship management efforts.

For car dealers, to further increase retention rates of their customers, it would not be surprising to hear a number of them offering aftermarket solutions like dead battery assistance, flat tire or tire replacements, as well as other roadside emergency assistance.

Building a strong relationship with customers becomes even easier considering that instant communication could be achieved, thanks to mobile messaging apps and Facebook messenger.