2022 a year of EV, Innovation and Partnerships?

2021 in many ways could have been described as one of the worst in the history of Automotive Manufacturing. Covid-19 has created many challenges for the New Car Sector whilst driving up artificially high used car prices that, at the time of writing, are already down by 19% from the heady hights during the majority of 2021.

The semiconductor shortages continue but Automotive Manufacturers and suppliers are putting into place long term strategic partnerships with tech companies and are exploring joint manufacturing opportunities too.  Its not just semi conductors however, there is a global shortage of raw product like glass, rubber and plastics. Add in the shortages of HGV drivers and the impact of lockdown and Brexit – 2021 has been a challenging year for most of us in Automotive.  Aluminium prices have doubled in price since April 2020 too.

2022 – whilst we still have the challenges spilling over from 2021, we will continue to see the exponential growth of EV, (BEV and PHEV) – November plug in sales reached 28% market share. Unfortunately we will need to see far more investment and focus in the overall charging infrastructure to keep pace with demand as it continues to grow.

Omicron seems to be growing too which is likely to create further challenges for business across all sectors – Automotive retailing continues to look at creative ways of addressing this – contactless collection, on line sales, home delivery and improved digital resources to assist in the purchase of your new (to you) car.

2022 promises to be another challenging year but the signs are clear that the sector is poised to re-bound strongly.

*Article content  courtesy of AMOnline and Ernst and Young Advanced Manufacturing and Mobility Team