Automotive transformation: How commerce capability is breaking down 100 years of business silos
Summary
And aside from the car itself, with it’s potential for in-car commerce or over-the-air updates reducing trips to dealerships and introducing new functionality (see Techcrunch for a good definition of an SDV), there’s also an expectation amongst customers that their interactions with an automotive brand throughout the product lifecycle will be slick, too. Pezic says that a lot of the change happening now is being “driven by OEMs”, who want to deliver more convenience for their customers, and are cognisant that in past years, some car buyers have viewed a visit to the dealership as one not dissimilar to “going to a dentist”. Tesla created its own ecosystem, but the EV brand has a “strong fan base”, much of which was built up whilst the infotainment element “was not as hot of a commodity as it is now,” says Pezic, who highlights recent backlash against GM on the issue. Last year, the Chevy, Buick, GMC and Cadillac manufacturer announced it wouldn’t be supporting CarPlay and Android Auto in future EVs, instead developing new software, notably powered by Google. Pezic argues for a common sense approach, saying that selling any “relatively basic function,” which involves the paid activation of “hardware that clearly you’ve sold to me when I bought the car,” is generally not something customers will appreciate.