Automotive technology giants have a pretty exciting period right now: full vehicle automation isn’t a detail from sci-fi movies anymore, as new disruptive technologies are constantly showing up. Due to various innovations ongoing or planned, it wouldn’t be surprising that we’ll be sitting in self-driving cars quite soon. Development and production are very important aspects here, so HELLA Lithuania is expected to become an even more important player in automotive trends. It is one of the leading brands focusing on electronic components and systems, currently located in more than 100 locations in 35 countries. Mantas Skinderis, Head of Internal Factory at HELLA Lithuania, has shared 4 most common automotive trends which are worth following not only at the moment but also in the foreseeable future. Check them out below!

Autonomous driving

“Nevertheless, according to the current estimations, we will have around 5% of the cars which will have the Level 5 autonomous driving around 10 years from now.“

Back in the days when control systems were developed to balance airplanes automatically, the car industry had similar experiments too, aiming to implement radio control. And currently, one of the main trends in the Automotive industry is Autonomous driving. However, it’s a very complex process as we need to separate Autonomous driving into a few different levels from 0 to 5 in order to support people with driving operations and ensure higher security levels on roads. The Level 5 means the car is 100% autonomous and will be controlled without any interruption by the driver. Meanwhile, all levels below 5 will ensure that the car could control everything on its own to some extent. To develop a fully autonomous car, manufacturers must go through each level because the infrastructure on the roads as well legal requirements are not established yet. Nevertheless, according to the current estimations, we will have around 5% of the cars which will have the Level 5 autonomous driving around 10 years from now. To put it simply, this means that people will have more time to complete their daily tasks during the traffic: reading emails, communicating with your family members and, as a result, not caring about the driving process at all.

 Efficiency & Electrification

“According to the market analysis, in 2030 30% of the cars sold will have internal combustion engines.“

Focusing on Efficiency and Electrification is an important part of current Automotive trends too. On one hand, we’re becoming really attentive to the emission of CO2, which implements strict requirements for car manufacturers and increases the number of electric and hybrid engine cars. Therefore, this brings us to a very comfortable situation to respond to this trend. Many car manufacturers are trying to jump in this train and match the market needs by expanding their production of the fully electric vehicles. Also, creating internal combustion should make the engines more efficient due to less fuel consumption and higher power with the same consumption. On the other hand, the internal combustion engines will stay here even in the far future. According to the market analysis, in 2030 30% of the cars sold will have internal combustion engines.

Connectivity & Digitalization

The increase in advanced driving assistance systems is leading us towards another automotive trend, Connectivity & Digitalization. More and more new cars are equipped with advanced systems. These include such as a wireless phone charger, smart LED lights, and even the control options with phones or smart keys. Using Artificial Intelligence, this market trend will grow even more since possibilities are endless so far. Of course, the infrastructures of information and cyber security will become one of the key challenges for this, especially given the context of the different regions of the world. All in all, Connectivity & Digitalization will support the development of secure roads as the communication between different vehicles on the roads will allow drivers to avoid unexpected situations!

Individualization & Personalization 

“People are spending too much time in their car to have this place uncomfortable. So personalized solutions will help everyone to have a vehicle equipped to their own needs and requirements.“

As everywhere in our lives, the opportunity to individualize or personalize things is one of the priorities. Cars and their users aren’t an exception here: think about controlling your car with a fingerprint or creating your own design and features. Many manufacturers offer these features already now, but the range of choice is about to extremely expand in the future. For example, we can expect to ‘buy’ a certain feature for a limited time. Let’s say a driver is using a car in urban areas only, so there’s no need to get high beam headlights permanently. However, if leaving the city for a weekend trip, this feature can be acquired for this particular time only. This will be surely available in the future, and a wide range of different features will be included. People are spending too much time in their car to have this place uncomfortable. So personalized solutions will help everyone to have a vehicle equipped to their own needs and requirements.