•Auto executives are more optimistic than in 2021 about
the prospects for long-term, profitable growth. Eighty-three percent are confident of higher profits over the next five years, compared with 53 percent in 2021.
•They have become more cautious about near-term results, however, given the headwinds facing the global economy: 76 percent are concerned that inflation and high interest rates will adversely affect their business in 2023.
Future of powertrains
•Expectations of global electric vehicle (EV) sales in 2030 are becoming more realistic. In 2021, executives predicted that EVs would capture between 20 percent and 70 percent of the market by 2030. Now they are taking a more cautious view of the challenges of shifting to battery power, with forecasts varying from 10 percent to around 40 percent of sales by 2030.
•Specifically, executives have greatly tempered their expectations about EV sales growth in India (poor infrastructure), Brazil (biofuels as an alternative) and Japan
(a focus on hybrid and energy sources other than batteries).
•There is, though, more confidence that EVs will achieve cost parity with internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles without government help. Eighty-two percent believe that in the next 10 years EVs can be adopted widely without subsidies. And 21 percent, three times the proportion in 2021, do not think governments should provide any direct consumer subsidies for EVs.
Digital consumers
•With the proliferation of new models, entrants, and technologies, executives believe consumer buying decisions in the next five years will focus on driving performance and brand image. Data privacy and security are also key factors in purchase decisions.
•Car customers are expected to shop increasingly online, opening opportunities for manufacturers to sell directly to consumers, as well as online through dealerships. Traditional e-commerce players will also compete for car purchasers.
•Auto executives are very optimistic about the prospects for after-sale revenues. Sixty-two percent are very confident that consumers will be willing to pay monthly subscription fees for software services such as EV charging, car-maintenance analytics, advanced driver assistance, and other over-the-air updates.
•Executives think automakers continue to see the insurance market as a key growth opportunity, but they have shifted focus from competing against insurers to partnering with them or selling them data.
Vulnerable supply chains
•Executives remain very concerned about supplies of commodities and components, especially semiconductors, as well as items such as electrical steel and lightweight materials that are crucial to increase fuel efficiency and extend battery range.
•In response to the vulnerability of supplies, car makers are focusing on near-shoring and on-shoring, in an effort to reduce their reliance on only one or two countries.
New technologies and new entrants
•Many executives think Apple will enter the car market and become a leader in EVs by 2030, moving to fourth place in the survey from ninth in 2021. Tesla is expected to remain the market leader in EVs.
•Whichever company becomes the leader, nine in 10 executives say start-ups will have a sizeable effect on the auto industry.
•More than one in five say they are extremely likely to sell non-strategic parts of their businesses, given the massive investments required to compete.
•Contract manufacturing will become even more strategic going forward.