Back in 2006, a British mathematician and entrepreneur, Clive Humby stated that data is the new oil. Humby meant to say that data is as valuable as oil, and like oil, data will be driving future businesses. With tons of data being collected from users and stakeholders online to analyze their use patterns, likes, and dislikes, data analysis is just helping businesses to sell better and build better products for their customers.
The Automotive Sector is Growing Rapidly in Response to Data Analytics
Advances
The Automotive industry too has changed remarkably with the help of Data analysis and Big Data. Car companies are using predictive analysis and telematics by leveraging lots of valuable data collected by various car sensors. Manufacturers do this to closely keep track of issues that occur in cars so that they can resolve the quality issues. Big Data analysis has changed the auto business and contributed to making cars safer and smarter than ever before that helped improve the new car sales as well.
One of the areas that have seen the biggest impacts of data analytics in the retail space and the way cars are sold. Many automakers have now set up virtual and digital showrooms that help potential buyers buy a car without even having to visit the local dealer. These websites even let you customize and configure the car and let you build the car the way you want, without the interference of the dealer.
Now this retail model, where buyers can customize their car and purchase it online just helped automakers understand the needs and choices of their buyers better. For example, Audi has partnered with Adobe to build a website that offers much more than corporate and product information. The website is now an interactive platform for Audi buyers, fans, and enthusiasts that provides them with buying advice, latest news, current, and upcoming models, promotional events, and activities and also assists them in selecting, configuring, and buying a new car.
Modern cars are complex machines and data analytics has an important role in making these fiddly gadgets extremely robust and reliable. Cars come equipped with many sensors and data loggers that continuously record and measure the car’s speed, fuel economy, braking times, turning manners, engine performance, etc. The collected data is sent to the manufacturer where it is cleansed and the car’s behavior under different conditions and driving styles is analyzed. These data patterns are used by automakers to develop predictive maintenance systems that will alert the owner of the car about part failures, fluid levels, service schedules, etc.
The motorsport industry is yet another huge beneficiary of data analysis techniques and applications. Motorsport is a highly competitive space where even a thousandth of a second matters and every bit counts. Motorsport teams have been using data analytics for optimizing the performance of their cars.
The diagnostics systems on the car record every minor detail right from fluid pressures to the effects of the car’s aerodynamics, everything is measured and recorded. Formula One teams log about 250 terabytes of data every race weekend which is sent to data scientists and engineers on the pit wall as well as in the factory where they cleanse it, analyze, and suggest the required changes on the car.
General Motors has devised an advanced mesh of connected cars using data science tech and applications. GM calls this tech OnStar which connects about 12 million vehicles to the company and records statistics about the vehicle which they further use for predictive and prescriptive maintenance, product and component development and even to build up marketing strategies. GM’s OnStar connected-car tech also enables owners to locate and track their vehicles and lock and unlock the car remotely using a smartphone application.
Even Tesla uses a similar kind of intelligent tech that enables owners to access their cars remotely. Moreover, Tesla uses this tech to drop updates on its vehicles over the air and resolve issues with cars without the cars being recalled or the owner visiting the service center. Many Tesla models back in 2014 reported overheating.
Tesla studied the data collected from about 30,000 cars and identified a solution by optimizing the power fluctuations. Tesla has also deployed a data analytics-driven software module called AutoPilot that has collected data from more than 1.3 billion miles. Tesla is using all this information gathered to build better modules for autonomous cars and intelligent decision-making.
Data science is not just boosting the auto industry on the roads but also back in the factory. By using prescriptive analytics modules, automakers are adopting faster and efficient production practices. Tasks involving material management, logistics, inventory management, scheduling, and production planning are now being done using a combination of prescriptive analytics, machine learning algorithms, and artificial intelligence. Auto companies now also have marketing analytics in place that help them identify trends with buyers.
Yet another sector that is often ignored but has seen huge impacts on data science is automobile financing. Auto-finance companies collect and study large amounts of buyer data. These companies analyze the financial history of the buyers and then develop schemes and plans for them. The data is studied minutely to build plans that attract more customers. The car and the whole transportation industry for that matter have been hugely impacted and benefitted from new-age data analysis technology. This tech has literally transformed the way cars are designed, built, sold, driven, and maintained.
By adapting swiftly to this technology, car manufacturers are now able to build a car in a short span of time, manage their inventory better, study the needs of their buyers in-depth, and build a product that the market just wants. Cars have also become safer and reliable than before, all thanks to predictive maintenance and artificial intelligence modules that cars these days come equipped with.
And on top of this, it isn’t just the car manufacturers who are at benefit but data analytics has also made the life of owners easier. This tech has enabled owners to access their cars remotely, get performance upgrades over the air, and has just made the car a very intelligent machine. All-in-all, data analytics has indeed given the car and auto business a huge boost and it will certainly take to higher levels in the near future.
Big Data is Rapidly Changing the Future of the Automotive Sector
A number of major changes are revolutionizing the automotive sector. Big data technology is playing a critical role in this regard. Car companies are going to continue to invest in data analytics for the foreseeable future.
