The Top Auto Trends To Watch in 2023

Online car sales

Many automakers have been transitioning over the years to a direct sales approach, in which the entire buying process is online. The need for the virtual showroom rose tremendously during the pandemic while there were restrictions on physical movement. Post the pandemic too, the customers’ inclination towards shopping online, even for cars, prevailed. Companies like Tesla, BMW, smart Europe, and many more have been very vocal about the transition. Alongside this it offers potential further opportunity for online platforms such as carwow, buyacar and GForces. The growth of alternative car ownership Options such as ride-hailing and car sharing have consistently been on the rise over the past years, and we expected to see these rise even further over the next year with there now being more competition to the likes of Uber & Lyft giving more options for consumers. More companies are starting to offer shared mobility options as a creative, affordable and convenient alternative to vehicle ownership; as a result, there is expected to be a decline in the total number of cars on the roads. Also let’s not forget with the looming recession this give a more affordable alternative to the traditional car ownership.  The continual growth of the Electric Vehicle market With billions of investments over the years and many start-ups that have rose and fallen the EV market is now becoming clearer as too who will survive and thrive in this race. Newer players such as Lucid, NIO, and Vinfast have already seen some great success, all of which have been able to deliver on their promises to get their vehicles delivered to customers and on the road. Alongside this the more traditional players such as VW Group, Mercedes, Polestar (Volvo) and JLR have invested heavily into the EV revolution with vehicles such as the Porsche Taycan, Mercedes EQA, and Polestar 2. The rise of EV infrastructure In order to support the growth of the EV market there is going to be a need to build up the overall infrastructure surrounding Electric Vehicles. With a major concern from consumers being around the fear of not having enough options to charge your electric vehicle governments and car makers are investing heavily into the overall infrastructure to support the growth of the market. The growth of the autonomous vehicle market As we see companies such as Waymo, Cruise, Uber and Motional deploying robotaxi’s on the roads it will allow for consumers and governments to understand the benefits of such technologies. With huge partnerships and further innovation, it will be interesting to see which other players can carve out their market share over the coming years. Also, with the growing investment from bigger players on the market such as Google, GM, Hyundai, & Aptiv it also allows for newer players with great technology to more quickly become a brand in the market through partnerships and strategic alliances.