Services, not the sale of vehicles, will soon deliver the bulk of profits in the automotive industry. Companies working in the auto industry need to change their businesses fast – and that includes financial services. We brought together some of the key players to explore the implications of the impending second automotive revolution, at a recent online conference.
“Our principle is to make our work as profitable for the buyer as for the seller," declared Henry Ford, as he oversaw the birth of the first automotive revolution.
Ford and other pioneers of the auto industry harnessed advances in technology, design and manufacturing to make motor vehicles they could sell at a healthy profit to legions of increasingly affluent consumers. And the mobility provided by those vehicles richly enhanced the lives of their new owners.
Automotive manufacturers around the world have stuck to this business model for close to a century. They’ve sold around two billion cars using this playbook.
Now auto suppliers must find a new way to do business.
Why? Because a second automotive revolution is on the horizon.