The connected vehicle industry is coping with flat revenues and a 15 per cent decline in shipments in 2020, although global tech market advisory firm ABI Research anticipates a return to financial stability early in 2022. According to ABI Research, both the embedded and aftermarket segments will see growth in connected vehicles next year and beyond.
Although shipments of vehicles with embedded connectivity have dropped in 2020, the sector still managed to contribute to the 30 million new connected vehicles that are on the road globally this year. Of the major markets around the world, the United States continued to lead in connectivity, as 91 per cent of new vehicles sold in 2020 were connected.
In terms of connectivity, Asia-Pacific had the second-highest number of connected vehicles this year, as 51 per cent of the new vehicles on the road are connected. These numbers are expected to grow over time. In a recent press release ABI Research said they “expect 115 million global connected car shipments, and a market value of US$83 billion in 2025.” The firm also predicted that “connected navigation, multimedia streaming, Wi-Fi hotspot, and voice assistants will ship inside at least 57 million vehicles by 2025.”
Fuelling this growth is the infotainment sector, as OEMs invest in larger displays within their vehicles. Screens as large as Byton M-Byte’s 48-inches and displays as large as 30-inches (as seen in the Fiat Centoventi) are being introduced in various vehicles and models. Consumers are often able to access connected infotainment and navigation systems at no extra cost to the purchase price as more and more OEMs like BMW and Mercedes offer these once luxury features as standard, even on non-premium models. Voice control in particular is an extremely popular feature and ABI Research “forecasts that virtually 100% of connected vehicles in North America and Europe will have voice control by 2023.”
