Under the direction of Professor Dr. Willi Diez, the Institute for Automotive Industry (IFA) has, in cooperation with Mieschke Hofmann und Partner (MHP), investigated the effects of car IT on automotive sales and service. The results of this study were presented at yesterday's conference in the Porsche Museum.
The study has shown that the integration of IT systems in vehicles will have far-reaching consequences with regard to the structure of future customer relations. The emergence of new players, from the IT and communication technology area, represents a major challenge for automobile manufacturers and their trade and service partners.
New business areas for MHP due to car IT
Dr. Ralf Hofmann viewed things optimistically, as new concrete tasks and projects with automotobile manufacturers would arise for MHP based on development trends compiled by the Institute for Automotive Industry (IFA) at the Nürtingen-Geislingen University (HfWU). He is convinced that differentiation with car IT will be one of the most important growth drivers in the automotive industry over the coming years.
New players in the automotive business force automobile manfacturers to act
Professor Dr. Willi Diez, Director of the IFA and head of this study, emphasised that the previous closed system, consisting of manufacturers, dealers and workshops, could open up to new suppliers and service providers due to the increasing amount of IT and communication systems in vehicles. The assistance and communication systems installed in the vehicle would permanently generate data about the driver, vehicle and vehicle usage. Based on this, the driver could be informed, in a predictive manner, with regard to the optimal time to change their current vehicle or upcoming maintenance or repair.
