A lot has changed in the century since Henry Ford introduced his revolutionary quadricycle and launched Ford Motor Company. While the once-novel Model T was produced on crude assembly lines, modern technological advancements have enabled mass production of today’s most futuristic vehicles. A true representation of shifting consumer preferences and production capabilities, the automotive industry is projected to continue transforming to normalize features that were once deemed science fiction. To maintain operational efficiency as consumer trends continue to change, it will be important for manufacturers to conduct routine spindle maintenance and repairs to avoid production halts.
Industry Performance
As a result of IIoT, auto manufacturers have been able to make major strides in extending the capabilities of today’s vehicles. The same can be said about the machines used to produce them. With these new features come new vehicle classes and services, driving the automotive industry into a new, technology-fueled era. Experts estimate that the industry’s worth will be $6.7 trillion by 2030, a drastic increase when compared to 2015’s $3.5 trillion valuation. With over $1.5 trillion of the industry’s growth being attributed to emerging tech and services, it’s important to understand some of the 2018 automotive production trends made possible by these advancements.
Electric
With greater importance being placed on climate change, the automotive industry continues to ramp up the production of environmentally conscious vehicles. In congruence with changing environmental regulations, electric and hybrid vehicles have experienced significant increases in adoption rates. It’s estimated that there will be over 41 million electric vehicle sales by 2040 encompassing 25% of the total market.
Connected
In today’s global marketplace, smart technology reigns supreme. Given recent advancements in IoT and seamless connectivity, consumers expect their vehicle to share the same smart capabilities as their phones, tablets, and other appliances. Today’s smart vehicles offer a range of digital services to amplify the user’s after sales experience. Predictive settings and AI can notify drivers of potential part failures and recognize personal settings and preferences. To better illustrate the growing demand of connected vehicles, let this statistic paint a vivid picture: by 2020, experts project that 98% of the cars on the road will be connected vehicles.
Autonomous
Auto manufacturers are racing to develop and market fully autonomous vehicles. While only a handful of companies like Tesla currently offer vehicles with self-driving capabilities, the advantages of a truly “driverless” car have captivated the masses by selling a glimpse into the future. According to experts, autonomous vehicles can not only save drivers a significant amount of commuting time by identifying faster routes (250 million hours), but they can also potentially save hundreds of thousands of lives by greatly reducing the human error associated with driving. By 2030, it’s estimated that over 70% of the cars sold will have self-driving features and that 15% will be fully autonomous — highlighting how close we are to the commercialization of this technology.
As the automotive industry continues to adapt to shifting consumer vehicle preferences, it’s imperative that manufacturers ensure they maintain production capacity to meet increased demands for trending technology. Where downtime in the automotive industry has been quoted at costing $20,000 a minute, routine spindle maintenance and repairs can help manufacturers avoid costly production halts and maximize their production output as auto manufacturing becomes more futuristic.
Contact the professionals at GTI Spindle Technology to learn about our spindle services for the automotive industry and ensure you’re producing at peak efficiency to be ready for the future.
About GTI Spindle Technology
At GTI Spindle Technology, we specialize in high quality spindle diagnosis and repair. Getting your business back into full operation and minimizing downtime is our mission. We offer in-house, on-site, and emergency assistance for machine tool spindle failure analysis, spindle repair, and complete spindle testing. With an extensive range and expertise in a diverse group of industries, our customers know that they are getting the highest quality of spindle repair and customer service. Click here to find out more
