創(chuàng)新改變了汽車但尚未改變購車體驗-Innovation Has Transformed the Car but Not Yet the Car Buying Experience 2024 -BCG

InnovationHasTransformedtheCarbutNotYettheCarBuyingExperience

JANUARY09,2024

By

AndrejLevin

,AlfredWiederer,

KarenLelloucheTordjman

,

ChristophHeuser

,and

LisaBornschlegel

READINGTIME:12MIN

Automotivecompanies

areinvestingbillionsofdollarstoradicallychangeautomobiletechnology,powertrains,connectivity,anddesign.Inthelongerterm,thesemovesareintendedtocutcarbon

emissionsandrede?nemobility,revolutionizingthein-carexperienceandmakingitanextensionofpersonalspace.Butoneaspectoftheautomobilelandscapeisbarelychangingatall,especially

amongtraditionalOEMs:thecarbuyingexperience.

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Onlyabouthalfofcarpurchaserssaythattheywerecompletelysatis?edwiththeirlatestbuying

experience,accordingtoaBCGsurveyofnearly2,000consumersinChina,Germany,andtheUSwhohadpurchasedacarwithinthepasttwoyears.(SeeExhibit1.)Notably,inChina,thepercentageof

completelysatis?edbuyersdropsto37%.Just43%ofrespondentsbelievethattheirrecentvehicle

purchasingexperiencesurpassedtheonetheyhadeightyearsprior.Moreover,surveyrespondentsidenti?edthecritical“awarenessphase”—whencarbuyersareinspiredtobuyanewcarandchoose

thebrandstheyfavor—asthemostdisappointingpartoftheexperience,fullysatisfyingtheexpectationsofonly34%ofcustomersoveralland20%ofcustomersintheChinesemarket.

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Toamplifythesigni?canceofthisfrustration,42%ofrespondentssaidthatcustomerexperienceisthemostimportantelementintheircarpurchasingdecision.(SeeExhibit2.)Ifthe

customerexperience

isnegative,itcanoutweighotherconsiderations—suchasbrand,price,andperformance—thatOEMsinvestheavilyin.

Fortunately,OEMscanhurdletheseshortcomingsintheircustomersexperiencesiftheyarewillingtoembracecreativityandinnovatetheirsalesandmarketingtactics.Emergingtechnologieso?er

numerousopportunitiestocreatemoreattractiveandenjoyablecarpurchasingexperiences.By

harnessingthesetechnologies,OEMscanbolstercustomerloyalty,triggerrepeatpurchases,andignite

activeword-of-mouthreferralstofueltop-linegrowth.Simultaneously,costsavingsinsalesandmarketingoperationscanenhancetheirbottomline.

ThreeTechnologiesThatCanBoosttheCustomerExperience

Themostpivotalstrategiestodisruptaprospectivecustomer’scarbuyingjourneyfallintothreecategories:

?Direct-to-Consumer(D2C).TheD2Cmodel(notapplicableintheUS)allowsOEMstomove

closertoend-customers,sellingvehiclesdirectlytothemthroughonlinechannels(forinstance),withphysicaldealersandagentsactingasproductexperts.Thisapproachcanalsoaidpotentialbuyersincustomizingthevehicleand?nalizingthesalespaperwork.AndD2Cmodelsincreasepricetransparencyandreduceoreliminateindividualnegotiations,dependingonthelegally

permissibleD2Cmodelinaparticularglobalregion.Moreover,direct,web-basedaccessto

customersenablesOEMstocollectmassiveamountsofcustomerdatathatcanleadtofurtherpersonalizationofthepurchasingexperienceandimprovementofOEMproducts.

?GenerativeArti?cialIntelligence(GenAI).Forsometime,OEMshavebeenchanneling

resourcestowardAIforautonomousvehicle(AV)drivingandadvanceddriving-assistant

technologies.ButautomakershavepaidlittleattentiontousingAItoenrichthecustomer

experience,eventhoughtherequiredlevelofinvestmentislowerandthehorizonforpositive

returnsnearer.Amongotherthings,AIcanhelpOEMsanalyzemassiveamountsofdrivingandusagedatathattheirvehiclesthatarealreadyontheroadcollect.Thisdatacanbecombined

withinformationdrawnfromcustomerresponsesandengagementduringthepurchasing

process.Automakerscanleveragetheseanalysestopersonalizeandtailoro?ers,anticipating

customerneedsandpreferences.

GenAI

canalsoscaleinteractionswithcustomers,usingsmartchatbotsinsaleswebsitesorcallcenterstoengagepotentialbuyerswithcomfortablenatural-

languagedialogstohelpfacilitatevehicledecisions.

?AugmentedReality(AR)andVirtualReality(VR).

ARandVR

createimmersive,interactive

landscapesandoverlaydigitalinformationontotherealworld.AlthoughARandVRarenotnew

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totheindustry,thequalityofthesetechnologieshassigni?cantlyimprovedinrecentyears.Whendeployedtogether,theycanrevolutionizethecustomerjourney,allowingcustomerstoexperiencethecarinvarioussimulatedenvironments,explorecon?gurationoptions,andvirtuallytest-drivevehiclesfromtheirhomes.

APop-UpStoreintheCustomer’sLivingRoom.Eachofthetechnologiesdiscussedabovegive

OEMstheopportunitytoenhancethecustomerexperience.Butwhencombinedinlargerimaginativestrategies,theyhavethepotentialtounlockanimmensetransformationgroundedindirectand

personalizedinteractionbetweenOEMandcustomersinanimmersiveexperience.

Oneintriguingexampleinvolveswhatwecallapop-upstoreinthecustomer’slivingroom.Withthis

approach,OEMsemployVRtocreateadigitalshowroomincustomers’homes,enablingcustomerstocon?gurecolors,interiors,accessories,andotherfeaturesinrealtime,andtoexperiencethecarwithvariouslooks,feels,angles,andsettingsapplied.Withoutleavingtheirhomes,theycanvirtuallytest-

drivecarsindi?erentterrainsandconditionsandenjoyahighlypersonalizedandinteractiveexperience.

Tosupportthecustomerinthispop-upstoreadventure,aGenAI-enabledchatbotcansuggest

appropriatevehiclesonthebasisofthecustomer’sneedsandpreferencesandcananswervariousquestionsthatmayarise.Thebotalsocanrecommendadditionalfeaturesorcon?gurationchoicesaeranalyzingthecustomer’spro?le—forexample,suggestingfour-wheel-driveforapersonwhofrequentlycommutesonicyroads.

Inaddition,thebotcanprovideinformationonpricing,includingleasingand?nancingoptions,andguaranteecompetitivelylowprices(eveno?eringresearchthatshowsrecentsalesinthearea)to

convinceacustomertoorderthevehicleatonceviatheonlinechannel.

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AUniqueCustomerExperience

Threecharacteristicsofthelivingroompop-upstorearedistinctiveinthecontextofvehiclesalesjourneys:

?TrueCustomerFocus.Automobilebuyerstypicallyresearchandbuyvehiclesduringnonworkinghours—thatis,whenmanydealershipsareclosed.Thepop-upstoreisopen24-7andthereforeisalwaysaccessibleonthecustomer’sschedule.Moreover,itusesitsAIcapabilitiestopersonalizethebuyingexperienceinresponsetocustomerpreferencesidenti?edfromdigitalpro?les,data

culledfromthesalesprocessovermanyyears,andvehicleusagedata.

?AlignmentwithOEMObjectives.Thepop-upstorecanactivelysteersalese?ortstowardthe

OEM’stargetcustomersanddevelopvolumeprojections,withouthavingtobuildcomplex

incentiveprogramsfordealers.Marketingandincentiveprogramsappealdirectlytocustomers

andaree?ectiveimmediately,eliminatingthelaginatypicaldealershipmodelbetweenlaunchingaprogramandseeingitsimpact.

?ContinuousImprovement.Theretailercancontinuouslyandautomaticallyimproveandupdateitspop-upstoreinresponsetorecentcustomerinteractions.Itcansystematicallyre?nean

individualcustomer’spro?lethroughoutthepurchasingexperience,leadingtoincreasingly

tailoredo?erings.Thispersonalizedapproachensuresthatencounterswitheachcustomerarerelevantandengaging.Moreover,theOEMcanleveragetheknowledgegleanedfromaspeci?ccustomerinteractionacrossthesaleschanneltoenhancetheexperienceofothercustomerswith

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similarattributesandpreferences.Ultimately,thedatathatOEMsgatheranduseinthevirtual

realitypop-upenvironmentcaninformbroadaspectsoftheirbusiness,suchasportfoliostrategy,R&Ddirection,andproductmanagement,packaging,andpricing.ThiswillenableOEMsand

retailerstoalignmorecloselywithevolvingmarkettrendsandcustomerattitudes.

Thepop-upstoreinthecustomer’slivingroomisjustoneofseveralpossibleapplicationsofthenew

technologiesthatOEMscanemploytotheiradvantage.Anotheroptionisproducttesting

communities,inwhichcompanieso?erpeoplegamepointsforcompletingvirtualvehicle-relatedtasks,suchasdrivingaspeci?cdistanceundercertaindrivingconditions.Participantscanearnmorepointsfromlikesthattheyreceivefromotherusers.Playerswhocollectthemostpointscanwinprizessuch

asservingasreal-lifetestdriversforaweek.

Yetanotherpossibilityinvolvesconvenienttestdrives.Shortlybeforeo?ciallylaunchingacar,

automakerscanpromotethevehicleinselectcities,displayingthecarinprimelocationsandallowingpassersbytobooktestdrivesinstantlyviaanapp.Onceinthecar,driversreceiveashortintroductionthroughARglasses,whileaGenAI-enabledvoiceassistantanswersquestionsandhighlightsrelevant

features.Aertheride,theOEMo?ersthepotentialcustomeravideoofthetestdriveandasummaryofkeydatapoints(includingspeed,route,batteryusage,anddriversentiment)viatheapp.

Otherapplicationsexist,aswell—forexample,exclusiveentertainment.Forautonomousdrivingenvironmentsandduringrelativelylongelectricvehicle(EV)chargingintervals,OEMscanturn

standardvehiclesintoentertainmentvenues,o?eringcustomersindividualizedmusic,movies,or

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gamingthattheydevelopedjointlywithpartnersinthemultimediaindustry.Usingsuchfeaturesofthe

carasvariableseats,climatecontrol,andambientlighting,OEMscanorchestrateauniquelyimmersiveexperience.

WhatAretheBene?ts?

BCGrecentlyanalyzedhowinnovativecompaniescreateshareholdervalueandimproveperformancebyadoptingnewtechnologiesanddevelopinguniqueapproachestooutpacecompetitorsintheir

market.Inour

BuildfortheFuture

(BFF)analysisofmorethan2,500companies,wefoundthatonly17%ofautomotive?rmshadadoptedimmersivesalesexperiences—andthosecompanies

outperformedtherestoftheindustry.Thedataindicatesthattechnology-basedcustomerexperienceinitiatives,suchasintegratedappsandmarketintelligencetounderstandcustomerneedsand

preferences,wereaclearpriorityofthemostadvancedcompaniesintheBFFanalysis.Thiswasnotthecasewithlaggingautomotivecompanies.

Inlightoftoday'scompetitiveautomotivemarket—wheremanyvehiclessharesimilartechnical

speci?cations,features,andperformance—theoverallcustomerexperienceplaysacrucialrolein

settingOEMsapart,andthereisclearlybothroomandaneedforimprovement.Justaskpotential

buyers.Inoursurvey,around70%ofrespondentssaidthattheywantednewdigitaltechnologiestobeacentralcomponentofpurchasingacar.(SeeExhibit3.)

Butonly9%pointedtothebuyingprocessasthemostevolvedaspectoftheautomotiveindustryinrecentyears.(SeeExhibit4.)

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Byintegratinginnovationanddigitalenhancementsintothecustomerjourney,OEMscanestablishadistinctiveidentityandsecurecriticaltoplinegainsinacompetitivelandscapemarkedbydeclining

globalgrowth.Thecustomerjourneyisnotsolelyaboutsellingaproduct,butalsoaboutcreatingaholisticexperiencethatleavesalastingimpression.Tosetthemselvesapart,OEMsshouldfocusonthefollowingstrategicsteps:

?Establishexclusivity.O?eringaseamless,interactivejourneyenhancescustomerloyalty.

?Createaninnovatorimage.AdoptingdigitalconceptssuchasAR/VRshowroomsresonateswithtech-savvyclients.

?Drivecommunitybuilding.Avibrantonlinecommunityfostersbrandloyaltyandengagement.

?Enablepersonalization.O?eringcustomerstailoredexperiences,fromvehiclecon?gurationstopost-salesinteractions,makesthemfeelvalued.

?Emphasizeconvenience.Streamliningprocessessuchastest-driveschedulingandpurchasingcansigni?cantlyenhancethecustomerjourney.

AdigitizedcustomerexperiencecanalsosharplylowerthecostbaseofOEMs.TraditionalOEMshavelongstruggledwithhighcostsofsales,drivenbyextensivedealernetworks,physicalshowrooms,andtraditionalmarketinge?orts.Theseexpendituresusuallyincreaseinlinewithrisingvehiclesales,

yieldingonlylimitedeconomiesofscale.

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Incontrast,digital-nativeOEMshaveamuchleanerapproach,leveragingonlineplatformsandD2Cmodelstostreamlinesalesprocesses,reducephysicalspace,andminimizeinventory.Withtheir

model,increasingvehiclesalesa?ectstheabsolutecostbaseformarketingandsalesonlymarginally.Asaresult,therelativecostsformarketingandsalesdropdrasticallyascustomervolumerises,

makingthedigital-nativeOEMs’strategyfarmorecompetitivethanthetraditionalsalesmodel.Infact,ittranslatesintoasavingsof$2,000to$4,000pervehiclesold—anumberthatwillincreaseassales

expand,duetothein?nitescalabilityofthemodelatmarginalcosts.

OEMscanalsoachievesubstantialshort-termmarketingsavings.Byunderstandingtheneedsof

customersbetter,companiescanfocustheirmarketingbudgetsonprecisionandpersonalization,

whilereducingtheirspendingonmoregenericpromotionalcampaigns.Furthermore,measuring

marketingandsalesreturnoninvestmentismoreaccurateandprecisebecauseitre?ectssigni?cantlymoredataandAIanalysis,enablingcontinuousimprovementinbudgetallocation.

GiventhestakesforOEMsintheautomobile’stransformation—thesizeoftheirinvestmentsandthe

salesgrowththattheyarecountingontokickstartEVandAVmobility—anequallyaggressive

approachtosellingandmarketingtheirvehiclesiscrucial.ByintegratingtheemergingtechnologiesofBigData,GenAI,andAR/VR,companiescanputthemselvesinabetterpositiontodrivepro?tmarginsthatonlytech-savvyautomakersenjoytoday.

Currently,OEMsmayviewthesetechnologiesasmerely“nicetohave”andperhapsascapabilitiestocasuallyconsider.Buttomorrowcomesquicklyinadisruptedindustry.Forthisreason,OEMsmustprioritizeimplementingnewsalesandmarketingenvironments—andbuildingthetechnological

capabilitiestonavigatetheme?cientlyande?ectively—orriskplayingcatchup.

TheauthorsthanktheircolleaguesJohannesSeyfriedandMarioFarskyfortheircontributionstothisreport.

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Authors

AndrejLevin

MANAGINGDIRECTOR&PARTNER

Hamburg

AlfredWiederer

MANAGINGDIRECT