Media post: How The Automotive Industry Is Changing In 2021
The automobile industry has been booming ever since the first mass-produced car in the early 20th century. In just over 100 years, we have invented and improved upon the vehicle into what we know it today. It has been transformative to the way people live their lives and how we build our communities.
Automobiles have experienced exponential growth and, in turn, have caused the world around to change with it, but the driving force (no pun intended) in our current world, fueling the industry to become more and more advanced; technology.
Self-driving cars
Self-driving cars are a relatively new invention, with many people still skeptical, and with good reason. But it is estimated that as many as 1400 self-driving vehicles are on the road every day; although that number is minimal compared to the number of cars, it is progress nonetheless. The production and sales are not expected to stop anytime soon, with companies like Tesla, Google, and uber only beginning their quest in making cars completely automated.
It is tomorrow’s revolutionary technology; the automobile industry will change forever once these new ideas become the norm.
Electric cars
Along with automobiles becoming completely automated, it is not far off to believe that our power system would also become automated. Instead of paying 50-80$ for a gallon of gas, you plug your car in at night or for an hour or so during a road trip. Although electric vehicles are still in the beginning stages, with the increasing demand for fossil fuels and the decreasing supply, there is only one logical ending: fossil fuels. No matter what we do, eventually, we will run out of fossil fuels, and when that happens, cars and other gas powered technology will be forced to change.
Electric vehicles are not just better for your wallet but also infinitely better for the environment. How we fuel and drive our cars will be subject to drastic change as technology advances and fossil fuels take the back seat.
Connectivity
Along with the technology of a car changing, it should come as no surprise that the technology we use in a car is vastly changing. The way we drive a car or go about purchasing a vehicle has become increasingly automated without even realizing it. More and more prospective buyers have begun using the internet to find used cars for the best price, especially amid the virus shutdown, dealerships were forced to use online forms of service, aside from dealerships, Carvana, a car vending machine that is entirely online and allows for a fast and easy way to purchase a vehicle. Purchase the car online, receive a coin that you insert in the machine, and boom, buying a car becomes as easy to get as getting a Twix bar from a vending machine.
The technology outside our vehicles is just as advanced as the technology inside; our phones have become apart of our everyday drives and connect us to the drivers around us. It is not merely devices separate from the vehicle either; more technology is being added to the car every day that was unimaginable before; self-parking cars, driver assistance, monitoring blind spots, and shifting out of lanes.
All of these features allow us to connect with the automobile and the people around us. Technology creates a more safe environment on the road to decrease accidents and aid drivers to stay focused and drive.
Navigation
It is not merely what we are driving but what we are driving with. With a phone and a car, you can go just about anywhere you want. That type of navigation and ever-present options have never been available before. As a young driver, it is foreign to use a map or even know the road names. I follow my GPS, but my parents and any recent generations have had to figure out how to drive without technology.
We have the solution today that they wished for 20 some years ago. We have roads that will take us anywhere we need to be, a car that will travel safely, a phone that will tell you exactly where and when to turn off an exit. The navigational ability of our devices is more than we could’ve imagined; with apps like Waze that utilizes the driver and technology, it allows for drivers to help one another out; alert for a speed trap, alert for a stopped car, immediate change in route if a traffic jam is detected.
One app can do all this and provide the perfect route to your destination.
It is not simply apps that help drivers either, but riders. Ride-shares have become popularized and depended upon everywhere; with the click of a button, you can be picked up and dropped off at your destination. Our entire world is at the tip of our fingers, and the automobile industry is no different.
