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Auto Industry 2025: Top 5 Challenges

Author

Gurdeep S. Hora
Gurdeep S. Hora
Industry
Technology
Published
Jan. 14, 2025
Read
4 minutes
Auto Industry 2025: Top 5 Challenges
The automotive industry stands at a pivotal crossroads, shaped by rapid technological advancements, shifting consumer demands and an urgent call for sustainability. As the pace of change accelerates, companies are compelled to navigate an increasingly complex landscape, where innovation and adaptability are not just advantages but necessities.

These are exciting times for the automotive industry and the vision of a major churn is making the professionals very nervous. Transformation and transmigration will be the keys to the Auto Industry’s growth in the coming years.

A paramount conclusion, based on our frequent interactions and discussions with the industry CEOs during the past 6 months, is that the companies that will not evolve and assimilate new technologies and innovations will experience sliding sales and lose the confidence of consumers and professionals alike.

We believe that during the coming year, the Top Leadership of the Auto Industry will be closely monitoring and focusing on the following 5 niche trends and challenges:

1. Electric Vehicles

The imperative of a more sustainable future is pushing governments and manufacturers to focus on alternative non-polluting fuels. Currently, the obvious answer is Electric vehicles, which will have the most significant growth in 2025. The emphasis on more stringent emission regulation is pushing all stakeholders towards a rapidly increasing EV infrastructure, (including rapid charging stations, solid-state batteries, batteries with shorter charging time and longer range, battery swapping solutions) and efforts to reduce manufacturing and supply chain costs so that they can offer lower prices to consumers.

Simultaneously the quest for alternative fuels is pushing the industry to develop and evolve Hydrogen Fuel Cells, biofuels and synthetic fuels, along with storage/fueling stations, particularly for heavier / commercial vehicles.

Razvan Eliad
Managing Partner, Kestria Romania

Europe has traditionally been a stronghold of the global automotive industry for many decades. However, in the past couple of years, it has faced numerous challenges, like supply chain disruptions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, stricter emissions regulations, the proliferation of Chinese EV brands and the introduction of the new safety regulations (GSR2). Nevertheless, the competition between EU and non-EU companies has brought some benefits for the consumers, in terms of price-quality ratio. Also, the European automotive companies continue to innovate and to adapt to meet market changes, focusing on innovation, digitalisation, sustainability and more environmentally-friendly products.’

2. Research & Development 

During this decade of transformation, the auto industry has huge challenges in the form of development and application of new technologies, materials, processes and integrating these with machine learning and AI technologies. Similarly, there would be a need to understand the real consumer expectations for sustainability and safety, comfort and infotainment preferences and benefits so that practical priorities can be evolved and a realistic segmentation of the product portfolio is created. The companies that will lead the way are those that, not only focus on in-house research and development of new solutions but also integrate multiple technologies and materials seamlessly with consumer demands.

Vehicle functionalities and personalisation will be defined through Software Innovations that can be upgraded regularly and remotely without loss of time.

3. AI, Machine Learning & Software

Successful companies would be using a comprehensive approach to integrate new developments in AI & Machine Learning algorithms, large-volume data analytics, enhanced techniques for lean manufacturing and product reliability into all processes.

It would be almost mandatory to employ robots and ultrasonic sensors for the optimization of production lines and use AI-driven predictive analysis to reduce costs and disruptions and increase productivity.  While all these areas will see individual growth and improvements, rapid integration and assimilation will need to be coordinated with rapid sampling and consumer feedback.

There will be a gradual growth toward Autonomous Vehicles and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems for lane keeping, collision avoidance, parking assistance, etc. and these will become standard features in most vehicles.

4. Vehicle to Everything Connectivity (V2X) & integration

Vehicles will increasingly get connected to everything around them - from drivers to other vehicles (V2V), infrastructure, traffic signals, adaptive cruise control, radar, safety, internet and cloud services, etc. through real-time updates and data sharing. In-car AI (artificial intelligence) and smart cockpits will not only manage navigation, infotainment and climate control but also lead to augmented reality dashboards, interactive windshields, facial recognition, driver habits and alertness monitoring.

However, these always-connected systems must be very robust and incorporate cyber security features to avoid the dangers of online hacking of vehicle data and controls.

Travis Hann
Managing Partner, Kestria Canada & USA

‘The innovation happening in the automotive industry is breathtaking, but what’s equally fascinating is how global infrastructure will evolve to support it. From charging networks for EVs to connected systems enabling seamless mobility, the interplay between technological advancement and the physical and digital ecosystems required to sustain it will shape the industry's trajectory.’

5. Consumer and market movements

Increasing urbanization and traffic is expected to far outstrip the construction of new road infrastructure and put real pressure on travel times and convenience.

Some of the market-related trends and features that will impact the direction of growth may include a gradual shift from ownership of vehicles to Mobility-as-a-service (MaaS), on-demand shared mobility services, subscription-based vehicle ownership, integration of multiple-level transportation systems, including buses, metro, self-driven cars, electric bikes and scooters through smartphone apps.

Summary

As the sector embraces new innovations and faces evolving challenges, staying ahead of these trends will be critical for success. The ability to leverage cutting-edge technologies, improve sustainability efforts and meet consumer demands for connectivity and personalized experiences will define the leaders of tomorrow. 

Gurdeep S. Hora, Managing Director, Kestria India sums up that the growth of the automobile industry lies in an amalgamation of AI/technology initiatives coupled with advances in engineering materials. To stay ahead, automotive companies must not just innovate, but cultivate a mindset that embraces disruption, continuously evolving their strategies and operations in response to the rapidly changing landscape.

Gurdeep S. Hora
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