Innovative Thinking is Needed to Drive The Auto Industry Forward

By: Marcus Gamo

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the automotive industry in a profound way, forcing the closure of global manufacturing centers, the cancelation of auto shows set to attract millions of visitors and drive sales leads, and the temporary shuttering of dealerships.

These challenges certainly have a direct impact on short-term demand, with analysts predicting a 60% decline in U.S. sales for April and even more aggressive declines across Europe for the month. This challenges automakers and mobility technology companies to revisit priorities and resources with the hope of a V-shaped economic rebound during the second half of 2020.

What we see across a number of industries - including automotive - are innovative ideas and creative solutions to help drive new revenue streams. And, the same will be no different for carmakers, dealerships and brands that champion a direct-to-consumer model made popular by distribution EV makers Tesla and Rivian.

• Several carmakers, including Ford, Tesla and Toyota, quickly pivoted resources to address the immediate needs of the healthcare industry, from using resources to manufacture ventilators to large-scale 3D printers to deliver face shields. While these automakers embraced leadership responsibilities at a time of need, this quick pivot demonstrates the ability to reimagine how best to leverage engineering ingenuity to create new revenue.
• With auto shows postponed or canceled outright, carmakers must revisit plans to develop a wave of buzz for new vehicle launches. To challenge this, VW built a virtual version of its Geneva Auto Show booth (planned for early to mid-March 2020) to help spotlight its priority vehicles for the year. Look for a growing number of automakers to take a similar approach, with top-tier shows in the U.S. greatly impacted this year.
• With so many already impacted financially by this crisis, consumers will look for new vehicles that offer the most value. For automakers, it’s an opportunity to spotlight sedans (including hybrid sedans), largely overlooked, given the explosive growth of SUVs and light trucks over the past decade.

With so many dealerships only keeping service departments open and available at a time when showrooms have been closed, opportunities have opened for each to look at fresh thinking to deliver solutions for their customers’ mobility needs.  

• Several dealerships have created mobile service offerings with basic services, such as oil changes and planned maintenance, conducted at a vehicle owner’s home rather than the Not only does this create revenue opportunities at a time when many consumers are unable (or simply cannot) leave their homes, it allows for a greater number of customers to get service at any given time.
• Dealerships, which often leverage a fleet of courtesy vehicles for consumers who tap their service departments, have the opportunity to reimagine how these vehicles are used. For instance, it’s likely dealerships will step into the carsharing community - similar to approaches championed by Getaround, Zipcar and even traditional car rental brands - and allow access to these courtesy vehicles.
• And similar to VW creating a virtual auto show booth to help drive demand for new vehicles, dealerships will likely lean into digital content to create virtual vehicle walkarounds and test drives to help augment digital commerce.

One of the hallmarks of the automotive industry is continued innovation, such as technology leveraged to reduce crashes and save lives, advance zero-emission mobility and in-vehicle entertainment. Even in the face of an economic crisis, we should expect continued innovation to drive the auto industry forward.

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As the head of Allison+Partners’ automotive specialty group, Marcus Gamo helps a diversity of brands navigate a new mobility culture and communicate unique visions for mobility’s future and how transportation is consumed through smart communications programs. With more than a decade of automotive and mobility industry experience, he architects strategic campaigns that deliver impactful communication for OEMs across the U.S., a leading technology and 5G chipmaker that powers connected transportation and autonomous cars, and global energy companies that introduce L2 and L3 EV chargers. 

 

Category: Consumer Brands