A sneak peek into automotive trends to watch out for in 2024

As with all industries, the automotive sector is undergoing radical change as a result of continued technological advancements and shifts in the socioeconomic landscape.

For any enthusiast looking ahead to 2024, it will be worth the time to anticipate trends and keep an eye on industry-shifting innovations, as this may give insight into how the automotive industry of the future is shaping up.

Doubly so for the Philippines. After the industry suffered devastating losses due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), local automakers in the Philippines predicted that the industry would not be able to bounce back until 2023. But due to various factors, the recovery began as early as 2021, when the country saw steady increases in vehicle sales despite difficulties in the supply chain and worldwide socioeconomic pressures, and continued throughout 2022 up to today.

Latest reports from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) registered double-digit annual vehicle sales growth in August 2023, with 36,714 units sold from 30,185 units in the same month a year ago.

By the end of 2023, it is predicted that annual car sales will have reached 400,000.

“Consumer demand drives the auto sales further… from an already considered pre-pandemic performance a year prior amidst the above inflation target recorded anew in the same period,” CAMPI President Rommel R. Gutierrez said in a statement.

“The auto industry is mindful of the challenges brought by high inflation and its effect on the overall consumer confidence particularly for big-ticket items — not welcome news to the consumers and industry alike if it will persist,” Mr. Gutierrez said.

Global trends may serve to bolster the numbers further, especially as the world at large moves on from conventional fossil fuels and transitions to more sustainable energy sources.

Sustainable fuel is becoming more popular, and automobile companies are working to lower carbon emissions through electrification, lighter materials, and better aerodynamics. It is predicted that electric vehicles (EVs) will rule the market moving forward, and that hybrid versions of numerous models will become standard fare on roads worldwide.

In fact, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the global market for EVs is booming, with sales of more than 10 million units in 2022. The strong demand for EVs is expected to persist well into next year, as sales increased by over 25% year-over-year in the first quarter of this year alone, reaching over 2.3 million units.

This means that, the IEA noted, with new purchases picking up speed in the second half of this year, there will be an expected 14 million in EV sales by the end of 2023, a 35% year-on-year growth. This would account for 18% of the year’s total vehicle sales.

Technological advancements in automobiles are also seeing groundbreaking progress. While the development of autonomous driving technology has been in the news for several years now, continued investments by companies like Tesla, Google’s Waymo, and General Motors can bring the technology to new heights in 2024.

Global management consultant McKinsey and Company anticipates autonomous driving (AD) could create $300 billion to $400 billion in revenue by 2035. Recent research found that major improvements in AD capabilities are on the horizon.

According to a consumer survey conducted by McKinsey in 2021, consumers are interested in AD features and are willing to pay for them. This is not even mentioning the knock-on effects self-driving cars can have on other industries.

“For example, by reducing the number of car accidents and collisions, AD technology could limit the number of consumers requiring roadside assistance and repairs. That may put pressure on those types of businesses as consumer adoption of AD rises,” McKinsey’s report said.

“In addition, consumers with self-driving cars might not be required to pay steep insurance premiums, since handing over control of vehicles to AD systems might mean that individual drivers could no longer be held liable for car accidents. As a consequence, new business-to-business insurance models may arise for autonomous travel.”

Naturally, several automakers are already piloting new insurance products to accompany these developments, as they glean insights on driving behavior from autonomous technology and make personalized offers to their consumers. Since they control the AD system, its performance, and the data that it generates (such as the real-time performance of drivers), auto companies can precisely tailor insurance policies to their consumers, giving them a significant advantage over external insurance providers.

Even if self-driving cars and such a future are still a few years away, in today’s highly connected world, vehicles are still essentially mobile computers. Device connectivity is on the rise, and as time goes on, so will the intelligence of motor vehicles.

Adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, and automated parking are just a few examples of the advanced driver-assistance systems that will become standard on more and more vehicles in the near future.

With the help of AI and machine learning, automobiles will learn the preferences of their drivers and adjust accordingly, creating a more pleasant and relaxing driving experience for everyone. Your vehicle will reflect your individuality, from the way you like to relax to the music and shows that are recommended to you based on your preferences.

The accessibility of modern technologies is also expected to improve. In many modern automobiles, drivers are already able to safely make and receive phone calls and text messages without taking their hands off the wheel. Now, even with automobiles that have not historically included a lot of fancy technology are increasingly including digital displays and touchscreen technologies. These technological enhancements will eventually reach even the most basic and utilitarian automobiles.

In the coming year, the automotive industry will no doubt remain a dynamic landscape of technological advancement, environmental consciousness, and shifting consumer tastes. Electric vehicles and autonomous driving will likely reach more people as the technologies behind them continue to improve, and this will have far-reaching effects on the transportation landscape, from design to urban mobility. — Bjorn Biel M. Beltran