... but it seems no-one told the automotive industry.
In this Insight, we take a dive into our latest data to see just how much the automotive 'CASES' (Connectivity, Autonomy, Shared mobility, Electrification, Security) technology landscape changed in 2020, and the risk of using 2019 information in 2021
The chart below, built with data from SBD's Connected Services Guide, highlights the increase in OEMs supporting connected car features using Embedded Telematics Control Units between 2019 and 2020 in China, the US, Germany, France, Italy and the UK. By looking for the dark areas for the most activity, you can see that China has seen the largest individual increases, with over 15 additional OEMs now featuring Remote Device: Car to Home, Charging Station Information, and Remote Charging Control. While China does feature the largest spikes, it's clear that there has been an increase in almost every feature type and region, with Virtual Personal Assistants, Remote Climate Conditioning, Remote Vehicle Access and Vehicle Locators showing significant activity.
SBD says - The chart above shows just how quickly the connected features landscape is changing, and it’s important to remember that this won’t only continue – it’s accelerating. Software updates, OTA support, and adaptable vehicle architectures are creating a market of software-defined cars, where connected features can be brought to a single vehicle, a model range, even a fleet of vehicles overnight. Remaining competitive in this landscape is a whole new challenge for OEMs. You can no-longer look at a competitor on day one of its release and judge whether your upcoming vehicle will be competitive 6 months from now. If you combine that with the acceleration of markets like China, it’s clear that trying to remain competitive, while using data that gives you a snapshot of the past, will leave you far, far behind.
Lee Colman Director, Connected Car
Using SBD's ADAS & Autonomy Database, we have built a quick chart to highlight the change in availability of Piloted Driving across all models in China, Europe and the USA in 2019 and 2020. It shows a clear and significant increase in the availability of Piloted Driving (SAE Level 2) in all three regions.
SBD says - What needs to be emphasized here is the increase in availability of Piloted Driving in China. In an incredibly short period of time, China not only became the largest automotive market in the world, it has also become a serious automotive manufacturer. While vehicle safety concerns have, in the past, stopped Chinese vehicles being sold in high numbers in regions like Europe, the introduction of Piloted Driving highlights the focus of Chinese OEMs on delivering safety. Combined with the overhaul of the C-NCAP safety assessment due in 2021, this focus could lead to a flood of new vehicle models entering the global stage with very little warning.
Alain Dunoyer Head of Autonomous Car
With data taken from SBD's Mobility Services Guide, we have created a chart to look at the number of major shared mobility services in both 2019 and 2020. You can see that, at first glance, it appears that not a huge amount has changed from 2019 to 2020. Certainly not the significant drop that was expected during the early lockdowns in 2020. But, it is also important to note that many services, including two of the biggest OEM-operated brands, did cease operations.
SBD says - At the beginning of the pandemic, it was predicted that the shared mobility market was going to be one of the most affected by lockdowns. Ultimately, the result has been mixed. While some major services were pulled (including some major OEM-operated brands), others entered the market during the pandemic.
Surveys are showing people being more careful about using public transport, due to social distancing, and shared mobility services are well placed to offer options that sit somewhere between that and owning a vehicle. A new type of customer means that shared mobility services will have to adapt to new challenges and introduce new business models in the coming months to find a place in the upcoming post-pandemic world.
Mo Al-Bodour Senior Shared Mobility Specialist
The scatter chart below is built, using data from SBD's Electric Vehicle Guide, to show the change in battery size (kWh) of Battery EVs available in China, Europe and the US in 2019 and then 2020. While at first it may appear that not much has changed, closer inspection reveals that there has been a significant increase in availability of vehicles in the 70kWh-85kWh range in all three markets. It's also worth noting how many new models have been introduced in China, and how drastically that would affect the other two regions if they went international. The speed at which the story is changing in China is something global OEMs need to be watching very closely.
SBD says - Though the 2019 and 2020 graphs initially appear similar, some subtle differences signal important regional trends. Chinese OEMs have continued to introduce more vehicles in every segment of the market, yet broadly centered around a 55kWh average battery size. The European market had been a bit separated between small city cars and highway-going ICE-replacements, and while the European city car segment has not seen much growth recently, the larger saloons, sedans, and SUVs are becoming more numerous while also expanding the medium-sized battery segment around 60kWh. This model expansion helped to propel the European EV market to record sales in 2020, exceeding forecasted sales after only 8 months. The American market, where vehicles are larger and distances are greater, is beginning to show real signs of life as OEMs introduce EVs at both the top and bottom of the range, hoping for more electrification support under the Biden administration. The next 2 years will see an influx of electric trucks which will fill out the top end of the this chart.
Robert Fisher Senior EV Specialist
According to SBD's Cyber Guide, there was a 64% increase in cyber attacks in 2020 compared to 2019. Many of these attacks came from White Hat hackers designed to highlight weaknesses as part of bug bounty programs, but 28% of attacks in 2020 came from Black Hat hackers with a particular focus on vehicle theft, data theft and business disruption.
The chart below highlights the increase of attacks in 2020, and the position of vulnerability many OEMs are facing in 2021.
SBD says - While car hacking has been on the rise over the last few years, 2020 shows a spike in the numbers. However, it is not a one-sided fight, as 2020 also saw the widespread integration of security controls by vehicle manufactures. We have been helping OEMs and suppliers revisit their cybersecurity processes and methodologies, and evaluating their security controls. Additionally, our compliance teams are also seeing an increase in activity as vehicle manufacturers come to terms with the emergence of new standards (ISO 21434) and regulatory requirements (WP.29).
Jithesh Joshy Senior Cybersecurity Specialist