Automotive companies are adapting to environmental challenges, digitalisation, changing customer behaviour, growing urbanisation and globalisation. With pure electric vehicles yet to fulfill their potential, improving Internal Combustion Engines assumes a higher priority, while plug-in hybrids are expected to be the most popular e-mobile and set to lead the e-vehicle race. In densely populated cities, mobility solutions (which include public transport and rented cars), are becoming more common, which could impact car ownership patterns and even herald the era of the self-driving car. In African cities that have a legacy of poor public transport infrastructure, car ownership has become more of an imperative.
- 46 percent say their biggest powertrain investment up to 2019 will be in ICE optimization.
- 35 percent predict plug-in hybrids to attract the greatest demand of any e-vehicle by 2019, with TRIADs being the most optimistic.
- 46 percent believe under-25-year-olds do wish to own a car; 54 percent say the same is true for over-50s.
- 23 percent of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) respondents say driverless cars are a key industry trend.
- 71 percent expect online dealerships to be important and 63 percent view multi-brand dealerships as a successful model.
- 44 percent are confident that China will export 2 million vehicles by 2016; 37 percent predict India to export 1 million by 2016.
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