Recent Posts

The launch of three automotive connectivity trackers highlights the impact of the technology

Consumers took home 94,466 new cars and light trucks in January, an average of 3,936 on each of 24 selling days. In the same year-ago month, the DSR totaled 4,048 on 23 selling days.

Toyota’s connected-tech guru predicts automakers won’t make billions on subscriptions, at least not initially.

Battery chemistry is advancing rapidly, spurred on by the high cost of raw materials and a coming gap in their supply. But the next big thing in batteries won’t be anything exotic or even that new. It’s a revived failure from the first Nissan Leaf.

Along with indications automakers are increasing incentives, a rise in the mix of affordable vehicles to go with the overall increase in inventory puts more upside risk than downside to the 14.6 million-unit annualized rate of sales currently expected for the first quarter.

Connectivity is now an essential technology in consumers lives and yet it has been slow to manifest as a must have service for US drivers. This tracker looks at how connectivity packages continue to evolve. When Wards intelligence started to look at this back in 2021 there were on average 15 connectivity features offered with the maximum being 23. As the tracker now shows the average is 19 features with the maximum being 34.

This connectivity market forecast looks at the number of vehicles being sold and global parc of operational vehicles that have factory installed connectivity from 2014 and forward looking to 2034. 

The cloud to car continuum is an essential part of the new automotive business model. It enables the new vehicle platforms and upends the design paradigms of the last 100 years. This tracker presents the shifts in technology and the dynamics of the individual companies that have different ideas and approaches to address the diverse areas required to fulfil the potential of the connected car.

Mercedes is pushing the autonomy envelope by being the first automaker to receive approval from a U.S. state for a Level 3 feature in the 2024 S-Class and EQS models as Nevada confirms compliance with state regulations.

Despite record January average transaction prices, there are indications of an easing in prices, including an uptick in incentive spending, which can be traced to the steady rise in inventory that began last summer and occurring at a much faster pace than growth in sales.

Global sales should resume year-over-year growth early in 2023 – possibly with January’s results - as demand in most major markets will offset any first-quarter pandemic-related declines in China. Volume in entire-2023 is forecast by LMC Automotive to rise 6% from 2022.

A key example of the transformation is Aruna Anand, an expert in electronic architectures and networking, was named CEO of Continental North America in December.