Automotive
The automotive industry in 2023 is doubling down on its drive towards electrification. Increased battery production, growing infrastructure, and consumer demand are some of the key enablers that will assist this transition over the coming year.
Industry Trends & Challenges
The pandemic of 2020/21 resulted in significant declines in vehicle sales, exacerbating these challenges, but also highlighted some fragility in the supply chains of most manufacturers as regional producers were affected at different rates and times. The increased requirement for remote working and monitoring of production, assets and processes has accelerated some initiatives such as digitalization and digital transformation.
Even as the industry recovers from the pandemic, the sector is still faced with significant challenges:
- reduced or declining sales volume in most markets
- regulatory constraints particularly related to environmental concerns
- skilled worker shortages
- supply chain disruptions
- trade barriers.
Some of these have been caused by internal factors such as production overcapacity, product recalls and brand damage as the result of emission testing failures. Others are a consequence of measures put in place during the pandemic.
The underlying trends that will drive growth over the coming years include:
- Connected, Autonomous, Shared, Electric (CASE)
- digital transformation
- mobility services
- changes in the consumer preferences and ownership models
What is the current position of the automotive industry?
2023 will likely see flurry of activity in joint ventures, spin-off companies, and mergers as companies attempt to manage profitability while protecting future growth.
Companies are transitioning away from being purely vehicle manufacturers towards offering a range of mobility services, all while looking to provide customized experiences, high reliability, and sustainable solutions.
Consequently, the industry has seen massive investment, enabling new product development that supports future business models, such as:
- autonomous and assisted driving (ADAS) vehicles
- connected vehicles utilizing 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies
- electric and hybrid vehicles
- industry 4.0 advanced manufacturing production methods
- software-centric architectures
- subscription-based ownership.
E-learning course
- Self-paced e-learning
- CPE/CPD-approved
- Designed for customer-facing professionals
Objectives
▪ Identify the different categories of automotive products
▪ Grasp the different strategies that influence design and production
▪ Identify the structure of the automotive industry and recall the activities of companies
▪ Distinguish between the key issues and industry trends
▪ Recognize some of the metrics to monitor performance


Automotive Industry Insights
Cambashi Automotive Industry Insights offers tactical industry intelligence updated by industry experts, that provides the latest information from across the globe:
- Tactical industry intelligence updated in real-time by industry experts
- The latest trends & challenges, business drivers, products & services and technology
- Business strategies and initiatives
- Key players and consumer perspective
- Industry terminology and metrics
- Deeper knowledge across a variety of industry subjects
Technology
The automotive industry develops and incorporates some of the most advanced technologies of any manufacturing sector. These technologies cover not only vehicle development but also production and supply.
It is easy to recognize the advances in mechanical technologies used in vehicles which have led to safety, efficiency, and comfort improvements over many years, but manufacturing processes, production facilities, and increasingly software and electronics are also fundamental to the delivery of such a complex product.
Factory automation, the use of robots, flexible production lines, just-in-time production systems, and quality management are core technologies essential to manufacturing performance. The industry has also been instrumental in advancing information technologies which support business processes across the value network including Resource Planning (ERP), Supply Chain Management (SCM), and Lifecycle Management (PLM).
Here we can see the relative sizes of the Computer-Aided Technologies (Mechanical CAD, Mechanical CAE, CAM) and PLM software sectors in the global automotive market. The total is worth approximately $US3.4 billion annually. Note how MCAE is bigger than MCAD, which highlights the importance of engineering analysis and simulation in the automotive sector.
Learn more about our market data for the engineering software

Design/Engineering/Manufacturing Software Market Share – Automotive Industry
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