Car Manufacturers Must Adapt To New Consumer Needs

The evolution of demand is the next level down from global trends in the automotive industry. Its role is to present the latest trends in car usage and the new markets and regions which have become or are becoming interesting opportunities for car manufacturers. Get an in depth analysis of how the passenger car demand is evolving in automotive industry analyses.

With the saturation of mature car markets and the damage caused by the last global financial crisis, alternative uses of automobiles recently appeared in regions like Western Europe, Japan and North America. Customer needs are much more at the center of attention than ever before, as evidenced by the constant testing and ranking of consumer satisfaction by J.D. Power.

Traditional OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) have to find new strategies to continue growing and to fight a new kind of competition coming from emerging countries such as India (Tata Motors, the very-low-cost car maker) and China (with companies like Great Wall Motors & Changan). Therefore, organizations are investing and increasing production capacities in new regions with the hope of driving up their sales numbers globally.

Opportunities in Growth-Driven Emerging Regions

The automotive business is not the first industry to show increased interest in less traditional regions. With a growing upper and middle class, combined with a wish to quickly catch up with western countries in terms of technology and customer goods, emerging countries such as Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRICs) have become more popular targets for manufacturers.

According to McKinsey, China recently became the world’s largest market in terms of vehicle sales, as well as the fastest growing and some models are getting country specific re-designed (e.g. Ford Taurus)

In India, the focus is on very-low-cost cars and two-wheelers, which still represent the biggest demand in the country.

Finally, the two other members of the BRIC countries, Brazil and Russia, are quite challenging regions for manufacturers due to the presence of very different regulations than the rest of the world. The two countries are also characterized by a unique consumer demand for local products. However, they both have a very different economic situation, as Russia economic downturn forced manufactures such as VW to cut factory jobs, while Brazil benefits from a healthier situation.

If you would like deeper insights on this topic, complete industry overviews and country reports are available on Reportlinker.com.

To Face Saturation in Mature Markets, Manufacturers Are Leading a Revolution

In order to fight growth stagnation in Western Europe, North America and Japan, and lessen the risk of seeing their market share diminish due to new upcoming players, OEMs have been working on designing innovative solutions to create fresh opportunities. The purpose and use of cars is slowly evolving and the traditional car ownership experience is no longer the sole paradigm in the automotive sphere. Even the purchase processes have evolved with now more people opting for leases than ever before.

Indeed, thanks to the rise of social media and the concept of the sharing economy, companies like BMW and Mercedes have decided to take their chances in the car sharing/rental industry. The concept of carpooling will also create new opportunities for businesses.

You might be interested in:

• Hot exciting trends in car production. Learn about what engineers & auto designers should watch out for in the future.
• Want to know more about innovations in automotive technology? From in-car connectivity solutions to green energy, this section presents the trendy technical features that are going to shape the automobile of tomorrow.