Market Outlook in the Automotive Business Segment
As the global economy is showing signs of recovery, the global car market is expected to grow by 3% in 2014 according to the forecast made by VDA (Verband der Automobilindustrie). For several years carmakers have continued to invest in automotive software for new car models and the market for software products and services is estimated to continue growing during 2014. The demand for EB´s products and services is estimated to develop positively year-on-year during 2014 in the Automotive Business Segment.
The market for electronics and software for cars is estimated to continue growing in a long term. The study “Future Industry Structure of Automotive (FAST) Electronics 2025´ from Berylls assumes the growth of automotive electronics from EUR 215 billion in 2012 to EUR 456 billion in 2025 (CAGR 6%).
Growth in automotive software market is mainly driven by:
• The majority of in-vehicle innovations come from electronics and software. Carmakers can develop more vehicle features and create product differentiation as software innovation allows great product innovation jumps in
the areas of comfort, information and entertainment, powertrain and communication.
• The software and hardware in electronics solutions will be gradually separated from each other in order to speed up the innovation and to improve the quality and cost efficiency.
• Consumers expect the same richness of features and user experiences in the car they know from the internet and mobile devices, and therefore infotainment systems become increasingly common in all car price categories.
• Mobile connectivity will become one of the fastest-growing Internet-connected device platforms among other connected consumer electronics devices, such as media tablets and smartphones. Gartner estimates that by
2016, the majority of car buyers in automotive markets like in the U.S. and the Western Europe will view the availability of in-vehicle, web-enabled dynamic content as a key buying criterion when considering a standard
brand car. This tipping point will be reached even sooner — during 2014 — for premiumbrand cars.
• Connected Car solutions and cloud connections enable bringing of new applications and enhancements to car functions, for example real-time traffic information for navigation. The increasing demand to better integrate
mobile devices with the car has been reflected in consumer electronics companies such as Apple´s “iOS in the Car´ or Google´s announcement of Open Automotive Alliance.
• New Active Safety Systems and Driver Assistance applications are being brought to markets as automated driving is becoming one of the key trends in the markets.
