Tectonic changes in the auto industry and our lives
There were more changes in the automotive industry in the past ten years than in the previous 120 years. A statement from one of the largest suppliers of the automotive industry, which may be shocking, but at the same time is somehow very true.
In the last period, the automotive industry found itself in a phase of transition. Classic gasoline and diesel engines are not alone anymore, the new players are electric engines. Besides hydrogen or hydrogen fuel, LPG and CNG driven cars, also, hybrids are more and more present, electrification has penetrated into every pore of powertrains. At the same time, manual gearboxes began to say goodbye. Today, they are becoming rarer, they can only be found in cheaper cars and in some sportsmen who remain faithful to the tradition of manual transmission and of course have customers who appreciate it.
The mentioned changes are not the only ones. Digitization, as another major change, is certainly equally important. It began to develop more rapidly at the same time as mobile telephony. The beginnings of its more serious breakthrough came in 2008, when the first smartphone reached customers.
Digitization connected cars with the Internet. The technological giants have penetrated in the cars with their applications and operating systems. Apple, Android and Google have become strong where only car manufacturers have always been present. However, they simply did not have enough knowledge in the field of digitalization, so they had to accept foreign players into their fields, technology companies that dominate the digital world on phones, computers, in companies and even in cars.
Therefore, the second statement is also true, that cars have become computers on wheels. Accurate, but also with a little imagination.
What does that mean for us, drivers and passengers? First of all, a lot of new features. When it comes to the electric drive, the road to user experience is relatively demanding, but inevitable. We have to accept that this kind of drive is coming, that there is no going back and that it is best to get used to it as soon as possible. This primarily means planning routes and charging.
Familiarization with applications that open charging stations on the road and arrangement of charging infrastructure at home and business addresses. Once that is sorted out, using an electric car is easy and affordable from a cost perspective, as electricity is still cheaper than petrol and diesel fuel, despite recent price increases.
The electric motor is more efficient, is more efficient, has no thermic losses and brings many other advantages - silent operation and zero emissions. At the same time, by buying and using an electric car, you raise environmental awareness and spread it in your immediate and wider surroundings.
Digitization connects everything and everyone. The electric car enables connection with an application on the phone, where you can book a service and tire change, check the battery condition and plan when and where to charge. At the same time, the same application can connect your life with your mobility, with a schedule that saves the dates of your meetings, children's activities, friends' birthdays and the like.
Digitization connects and organizes our lives and puts them into digital applications where everything is in one place. Since the data is in the cloud, you cannot lose it like a diary, a sheet of paper or any other form of notes.
All that is necessary is to surrender to the advantages of new technologies, accept them wholeheartedly and start using them.
In doubt? This is normal, especially when we talk about the protection of personal data, the control of technological giants over our lives. The fact is, however, that companies must treat our data responsibly, as they can only use it internally and, with our permission, also for marketing purposes.
The fact is that the world is changing. That mobility is changing, that our lives are changing. All changes are challenging. If we look at them from the right side, they can also be very positive for our lives.