Prospects for 2023 Chicago Auto Industry

Prospects for 2023 Chicago Auto Industry

Many analysts note that the famous Chicago auto industry is accelerating faster and faster today. True, as an early effect of the raging Covid-19, there was a significant dip in the road. Regardless, car production and car sales have now roared back. Pundits say substantial changes lie ahead, and better days are sure to come. Beginning in the final quarter of 2020 and running into 2021, things started taking a good turn.

Interestingly, in recent months, automakers worldwide have experienced tremendous changes. In a few cases, there've been record production and sales levels. Just like many industries across various geographic regions, the past pandemic experience gave birth to accelerated trends, impacting the mobility value chain, particularly what was already building up in the preceding months and years.

When we think about the data-driven 2025 enterprise, it paints a positive picture of the future ahead. Try also to think about the car and truck buying businesses. Before the pandemic hit the world, many consumers had a great opportunity to explore various vehicles online, comparing prices. They could virtually experience 360-degree views of the specific vehicle they wished to buy and even visit several carmaker websites in an effort to (virtually) build their own cars. Such features were available even when, in most places, the buyers were required to visit a physical location to complete the process.

In time such technological advances proved invaluable; indeed, some car dealers decided to close down their sales shops in order to engage customers using videoconferencing techniques, the phone, and arranging for special appointments. Buyers could also utilize apps and sites to seamlessly explore and arrange such related services, including insurance and financing- they could do all these remotely and virtually as a manifestation of the modern car-buying process.

After the pandemic, many customers started flocking back to most of Chicago's dealership floors. This proved that most people still wished to interact with sellers and dealers and see, feel and test-drive their selected vehicles before actually buying them. As time moved on, different platforms, including the physical and the virtual, continued existing side by side. They complement and compete with one another. Notably, specific car and truck models have continued thriving by using a different system other than the traditional dealer showrooms. Among these are the top-class Tesla, Volkswagen, Volvo, and Porsche. Several other leading automakers have decided to try doing business using a new manufacturer-led model that focuses on selling and servicing vehicles. Many of these boast of having a solid legacy dealer network.

Interestingly, comparable dynamics revolving around digital and legacy elements are actively playing out in the vehicle manufacturing sector. The supply chains are holding steadily despite the earlier jitters that the industry would be adversely affected by things like microchip shortages, geopolitical tensions, and the certain blockage of the strategic Suez Canal. Further, just like in the car buying business, there is considerably greater transparency in the manufacturing sector, owing to digital advancement.

Analysts generally expect the auto industry at large to have certain significant factors accelerating the growth situation. The core autonomous, electrification, shared mobility, and smart technology trends are expected to accelerate. Significantly, companies and funds outside the traditional automotive industry have invested over $300 billion in various ACES technologies. They did this because they believed in the promising future of mobility. Over the years, investments in connectivity (including cybersecurity and infotainment sectors) have significantly increased.

As of 2022, the prevailing trends clearly suggest that the mobility factor will continue to impact the digital space with businesses becoming ever more connected. Certainly, advances in electric vehicle technology also play a central role in promoting production and business. Indeed, electric car consumers who considered the sustainability factor in their vehicle-buying decisions actually pushed their sales up, eventually realizing up to a 43% increase in 2020. There's little doubt that changes in mobility factors call for changes in capabilities. Thus, automakers will have no option but to adjust their organizations. They can do this, for instance, by increasing the number of software engineers vis-a-vis the mechanical engineers. Generally, automakers may be required to re-skill up to ¼ of their current workforce. Analysts expect such trends to accelerate, particularly as the industry picks up from the past Covid-19 pandemic aftermath.