According to the latest report from growth partnership company Frost & Sullivan, government mandates on emission and safety drive innovation are pushing original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to make major investments and collaboration efforts in six fields: powertrain; chassis; safety; comfort; connectivity; and EV technology.
According to the report, automotive OEMs, suppliers, and technology start-ups will benefit by partnering with each other through data and cloud-based services to expedite the growth of advanced in-vehicle technology, and reduce the price point of top features.
“While the majority of features identified are currently available across select vehicle models owing to high technology costs, they have significant potential through (R&D), collaboration, and knowledge sharing to reach peak performance, adoption, and penetration across multiple vehicle models,” says Ajay Natteri Mangadu, research analyst for Frost & Sullivan.
Some OEM and supplier activities and partnerships include:
GM and Ford 10-speed transmission co-development;
Honda NXS offering steer-by-wire;
Technology companies such as Waymo, NVidia, and Baidu entering the automotive space to reduce road accidents through the development of autonomous software;
GM acquiring Cruise Automation for autonomous technology development, as well as investments in Lyft and Maven;
Gentex and Delta ID collaboration to develop an iris scanner for vehicle authentication and security;
Partnerships between Cisco and Hyundai for high-speed connectivity with SK Telecom, BMW, and Ericsson achieving 5G in car connectivity at over 100 mph;
Bosch opening a new unit for electromobility, focusing on battery technology;
Honda-Hitachi partnership to develop motors for EV;
Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi introducing top technologies, such as active lane change assist and gesture recognition; and
Tesla setting industry some standards in EV technology, in-car connectivity, and semi-autonomous driving technology.
“In-car connectivity features are set to boom within the luxury vehicle market, while mass-market segment vehicles are expected to adopt features such as autonomous emergency braking to improve safety,” adds Natteri. “EV technologies will witness low adoption rates owing to high technology costs.”
