Automotive Industry Enters the Era of Digitalization

From Horsepower to Data, the Automotive Industry Enters the Era of Digitalization

As automotive consumers increasingly expect a seamless, technology enabled cabin experience, OEMs will need to overcome several challenges in order to capitalize on the lucrative new marketplace trend.

Oct 10, 2017

As the car becomes an essential part of a consumer’s digital life, they will increasingly expect a seamless technology-enabled, door-to-door, multi-modal travel experience. To meet this growing demand for connected vehicles, the global automotive industry now finds itself in the middle of a significant transformation. While the omnipresent usage of smart devices has been a self-evident facet of daily life for over a decade, only recently has the connected car become a more integral part of our data-driven mobile lifestyle. According to a recent study by Accenture, the overall business value of connectivity solutions in the automotive market (including hardware, software, and in-vehicle services) is estimated reach €100 billion by the year 2020 – and up to €500 billion by 2025. 

If Car Companies Don’t Keep Up, Tech Companies Will Take The Lead

To bring automobile manufacturing fully into the 21st century, the global automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their tier suppliers will need to figure out how to capitalize on the connected car trend. If not, the current market leaders in personal data and technology (e.g.,Google, Apple, etc.) will capture the internet-driven cabin experience, siphoning profits and customer loyalty out of the value chain.

As the world becomes a more connected place, automotive OEMs face several key challenges. While consumers want their vehicles to be connected, they don’t necessarily want to pay extra for features and services they now take for granted. They expect their smartphones, tablets, and in-dash screens to work fluidly within their vehicles. And as personal technology hardware continues to be refined and minimized, cabin designs need to incorporate these new interactive features in the most seamless, intuitive, and unobtrusive way possible.

A Harmonious Integration of the In-Cabin Digital Experience

To help our automotive clients stay ahead of the convergence curve, our tapes ensure a harmonious integration of digital elements like onboard computers, touchscreens, and instrument panels into new automotive interior concepts. tesa also provides a range of advanced adhesive solutions for the assembly of in-cabin digital elements, including screen mounting, sealing, shielding, and grounding.

5 Key Benefits for a More Connected Cabin

  1. Optically clear: tesa’s adhesive solutions provide excellent suppression of delay bubbles and long term UV resistance, even in harsh environments.
  2. Light blocking: Designed for the mounting of LCD panel and back-light unit, our acrylic adhesives with PET backing provide superior light blocking in displays and PCB covering.
  3. Electrical insulation: PET and PI-based insulation assortment offers excellent temperature resistance and electrical insulation properties.
  4. Gap filling and cushioning: Conformable foam backings compensate for design tolerances, which enables the mounting of uneven and curved surfaces.
  5. Grounding and shielding: With excellent electrical conductivity in XYZ direction, tesa’s versatile, electrically-conductive tape assortment provides EMI shielding as well as FPC and PCB grounding.

Proven Expertise and R&D in Both Consumer Electronics and Automotive

According to a KPMG survey from January 2016, digitalization is seen as one of the key one priorities until 2024 by 50% of the leading automotive industry’s professionals. With our established application and product expertise in consumer electronics, we are strongly positioned to help automobile manufacturers compete in this rapidly evolving digitally connected world. And as a recognized and certified partner to the automotive industry for decades, we offer the level of technical application support and global R&D needed to shift the value chain from horsepower to data. To learn more, please contact us via the e-mail form below.