Photo Source/Copyright: Shutterstock via photographer Phonlamai Photo
The better question to ask should be more along the lines of, what are automakers not doing in 2021 to revolutionize the sector?
It’s no question that 2020 and some of 2021 brought on some of the hardest months in the modern era—for obvious reasons, of course.
But despite those obstacles, some businesses blossomed to greater heights than before the pandemic—one of those businesses—the auto industry.
Cars were coming off the lot at record rates which boded well for business… until the chip shortage happened. Since then, many automakers have struggled to meet the surge in demand for personal vehicles and likely will until a sufficient amount of chips can be made to keep up with the record demand.
However, the pandemic also gave automakers the time to reevaluate strategy and move into the next phase of the car industry: the era of electric vehicles (EV).
Electric Expansion
With many automakers pledging to eliminate carbon emissions within the next decade, it’s no secret that the industry is moving to a more sustainable and green business model.
Slowly but surely, automakers have released plans to go fully electric sometime in the future, with many using 2021 as their starting point on some of their most popular models via hybrid or all-electric iterations.
While many automakers have had hybrid and electric vehicles for a few years now, 2021 has seemingly become the true birth year for the segment. The Audi e-Tron, BMW iX3, GMC Hummer, and Jeep Wrangler 4xe are just some of the many vehicles that hopped onto the scene this year.
The problem all along has been the ability to make the technology accessible and affordable. Now that it has been done, makers such as Tesla have to hold on tight to see if they can hold off the competition.
Autonomous Vehicles
Autonomous vehicles are not nearly as prevalent as electric and hybrid vehicles, but they are making strides to co-exist in the ecosystem.
Self-driving cars are years from being the main focus in the automaking industry, but they certainly will require attention thanks to the dominant tech companies such as Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon.
Still, much is to be uncovered here.
Connectivity
Connectivity is also another component in the sector that has improved leaps and bounds over the past decade.
However, beyond the cool apps and big touchscreens, automakers are looking to improve another facet of communication capabilities in the form of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) connectivity.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), this technology will play a pivotal role in mitigating traffic collisions, improve congestion, and even help the environment once it is fully integrated.
Digital Experience
The traditional brick-and-mortar in-store experience likely won’t return to what it used to be. Since the start of the pandemic, the digital car-buying experience has elevated to new heights, with online sales and customer service interactions on the rise. Some automakers are also going beyond the dealer experience and boosting connectivity to help create in-car shopping capabilities.
The digital world is expanding and the car business does not want to get left behind.
Driver’s Auto Mart
If you’re looking for the car of your dreams but don’t quite want to pay the new price for it, check out Driver’s Auto Mart. They have an extensive selection of certified pre-owned vehicles ready to be test-driven and taken home.
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Terry is an avid Nascar fan who grew up attending races at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, just down the road from his hometown of China Grove, NC. Terry currently resides in Wellington and has been writing for 15 years. He also enjoys watching the Road Runner Looney Tunes cartoon with his two sons in his spare time.