Evolving trends creating ripples in the automotive design space ​ ​

Customers today have become more used to controlling their environments with the help of smart devices at home. As a result, they are now expecting the same connectivity, convenience, and experience in their cars. To cater to these new requirements, automotive manufacturers need to develop a minimal viable product for testing in a pilot market environment, constantly collate customer feedback on application attributes, and identify unique requirements based on research and usability benchmarking of the vehicle interface. Only that way can they come up with marketable vehicle attributes. ​

As the shift towards customized experiences gains steam, the need to integrate new features in the interior space will become even more evident. Configurable seating, viewing screens, haptic controls, ergonomic storage areas, and connectivity ports will be a few of the several differentiators. Such internal feature amplitude will increase design complexity and exert greater pressure for cost optimization. In such circumstances identifying non-value-adding and non-visible vehicle components could be challenging for companies. ​

Additionally, pressure from investors and even high-end luxury customers towards the inclusion of eco-friendly products in vehicle design could present newer challenges for OEMs when it comes to material selection, design finish, and perceived quality. ​