By Joe Register, vice president, Emerging Technologies, Auto Care Association

Industry analysts like McKinsey & Company believe the introduction of connected and automated vehicle technologies, the rapidly evolving ecommerce sector and the introduction of new competitors (like digital natives) will lead to the redistribution of 30-40 percent of aftermarket profits throughout the value chain. They predict these forces will reshape the current value creation and business models within the aftermarket, pressuring the established industry leaders to respond. Automotive aftermarket companies must find a way to embrace these changes to thrive in this challenging business environment.

Potential Prosperity: Your Piece of Tomorrow’s Technologies
There is so much more to be gained beyond protecting existing market share, as these disruptive technologies also represent a significant upside in potential revenue opportunity. MarketsandMarkets predicts the vehicle diagnostics market will reach US$30.22 billion by 2021. Netscribes, Inc. sees the global telematics market reaching US$233.24 billion by 2022. Transparency Market Research (TMR) predicts the global market for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) will reach US$57.44 billion in 2024. Collectively, these revenue forecasts represent a potential market of over US$320B for products and services based on these technologies.

The same technologies that enable creation of a fully automated vehicle also provide the foundation for these new market opportunities – vehicle communications and automation. Vehicle communication technologies enable entertainment and navigation services, telematics and ITS messaging and Automated Control Systems composed of intelligent sensor and control networks, such as Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS), and their electromechanical actuators. The continued health of the aftermarket maintenance and repair business, and nearly all the emerging product and service opportunities, depend on fair and equal access to the data generated by these systems.

Pre-Existing Protocols: The OEMs’ Advantage
Unfortunately, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have a head start in realizing the opportunities afforded by these emerging technologies through their design and implementation of closed, proprietary systems. Closed systems afford privileged access and control to vehicle data through the unilateral, unregulated control over data access, including personal data related to driving behavior and occupant biometrics as well as the vehicle’s health and performance. Many vehicles have embedded diagnostic systems that connect directly with the manufacturer’s corporate infrastructure where further analysis can be performed via activation of bi-directional services. They can communicate the results of their offboard analysis directly to the driver via the car’s infotainment display, then direct the driver to the closest OEM service facility. Proprietary designs and unilaterally controlled access to vehicle data compromise the aftermarket’s ability to offer competitive products and services, which is not in the best interests of the vehicle owner and fair competition.

Obstacle Override: Our Solution
The automotive aftermarket holds an alternative vision for vehicle communication that provides safe, secure, standardized and direct access to vehicle data where the vehicle owner acts as the gatekeeper controlling access to their car’s data. We reject the concept of proprietary security strategies relying on “security by obscurity,” instead embracing safe and secure access through the implementation of documented industry standards for secure communications. We recognize that aftermarket shops and technicians will soon be maintaining the cars of tomorrow, so we’re working to standardize the maintenance and repair of automated systems to ensure safe and dependable operation long after the warranty expires.

Share the Success: See You at AAPEX
If you share our vision, you’ll want to stop by the Emerging Technologies booth (31021), Venetian Ballroom, Level Two to see how the aftermarket can stay competitive in the brave new world of advanced vehicle technologies. Talk with the developers of prototype applications featuring safe, secure, standardized and direct access to vehicles, and see applications designed to level the playing field with the manufacturer’s proprietary systems. Hear from the shop owners, equipment providers and engineers working to standardize ADAS recalibration, and make sure to attend the ADAS Forum on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 9:30 a.m. in The Venetian, Bellini Ballroom to learn more about the risks and future opportunities afforded by these technologies as they continue to evolve.

To attend AAPEX 2019, register now.

 Joe Register is vice president, emerging technologies at the Auto Care Association. In this role, Register is responsible for bringing the aftermarket perspective to vehicle technology development as new technologies are designed and introduced to the marketplace. This includes working with his global counterparts in industry standards-setting organizations, such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and SAE International, to identify and address potential opportunities and threats that recent vehicle technology innovations create.