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Analysis |
What a difference a decade makes
Compared to many high-technology markets—such as wireless communications—time often seems to progress slowly in the automotive business, with even a period of 10 years sometimes bringing only incremental changes to cars.
However, that all has changed during the past decade, as new infotainment technology has completely revolutionized cars and the automotive business as whole, according to IHS. As sweeping as these changes have been, they are set to be eclipsed by events during the next decade, as a new wave of technologies sweeps through the market.
“The radical changes wrought by the rise of infotainment technology are dramatically illustrated by the transformation of automotive dashboards during the past 10 years,” said Ben Scott, technology solutions analyst for IHS Automotive. “In 2002, an owner of a new Ford Focus gazed down upon a proprietary dashboard that had no connectivity and that was adorned only with an AM/FM/CD music player. In 2012, the proud owner of a new Focus beheld a dashboard rich with infotainment features, including multiple displays, a wealth of apps and services and various means of connectivity. The major question that automakers need answered now is, ‘What will the Focus dashboard of 2022 look like?’”
This year’s model
Other major changes to impact the automotive market during the last 10 years include:
- The average car in 2012 contained about $330 worth of semiconductors, up 65 percent from $200 in 2002.
- In 2002, infotainment technology wasn’t really a selling point in motor vehicles because the powertrain was a more important consideration. One decade later, it’s the complete opposite: infotainment systems now can account for as much as 10 percent of the price of buying a new car.
- Ten years ago, most cars had no connectivity. Today cars come with various means of connecting with the outside world, including telematics, cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.