“The connected car has the potential to revolutionise the car rental industry” – This bold statement is the focus of Avis Car Rental UK’s latest report, developed in partnership with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Volvo Cars, Vodafone and the BVRLA.
Bringing together the insights and knowledge of business leaders in the field, the report explores how connected car technology – vehicles that offer internet connectivity along with a local WLAN network – might impact car rental and wider industries. It also demonstrates the level of technology involved in connected cars by revealing an F-35 fighter jet has around 8 million lines of computer code, while a connected car has 100 million.
Millions of connected cars are already on the road and the numbers are growing rapidly with annual sales of connected car technologies predicted to triple to €122.6 billion by 2021. It is also predicted that one in five passenger vehicles will be connected by 2019, demonstrating that this rapidly-evolving technology is prompting new questions, posing new challenges and providing new opportunities.
Nina Bell, Managing Director for the Northern EMEA Region at Avis said: “For years, the car rental process hasn’t changed dramatically. Most customers go to a counter, sign paperwork, collect keys and head to their vehicle. Connected car technology has the potential to change not only the car rental experience but the entire automotive industry, as well as business models within other sectors. This report explores this evolution and what it means for us all.”
The report covers a wide range of topics, from the basics through to autonomous vehicles and data management:
· Telematics and how data is key to intelligent vehicles
· The concept of mobility as a service
· Autonomous vehicles – the benefits and challenges to overcome
· Transition towards service provision and changing business models
· Data management considerations for the fleet sector
