The Pandemic will accelerate the digitization of the Indian automotive industry: Auto Experts at OLX Auto Talk 3.0

New Delhi: Auto industry experts from MG Motor, OLX, Eplane & AdvantEdge unequivocally opined that the pandemic has been a watershed moment for the Indian automotive industry and in particular the second wave will lead to a delay in consumer demand for cars and mobility solutions thereby leading to a pent up demand for the same in the coming months. At a recently held industry discussion by OLX Autos India called OLX Auto Talk 3.0, which brings together prominent voices in the automobile industry to discusses pertinent issues in the ecosystem, experts from the automotive ecosystem including OEM, car marketplaces & new age consumer mobility firms such as MG Motor, OLX, aerial mobility company Eplane & venture capital firm AdvantEdge chimed in that this pandemic will accelerate the digitisation of the automotive industry faster than ever before in order for the industry to cater to the new age consumer demands. While the first wave of the pandemic definitely jolted the automotive and consumer mobility industry, experts felt that the industry is well prepared for the 2nd wave and technology such as hybrid dealerships, integrated online consumer experiences, new forms of personal consumer mobility options and artificial intelligence will be a must for the industry to safeguard itself from any further impact of the pandemic in the coming months. The experts opined that OEM's and dealerships specifically have adopted digital technologies faster in the last 1 year than in the last 5 years. This has led to consumer purchase cycles declining and has paved the way for a seamless adoption of automotive experiences as per MG Motor. However while this largely remains an urban phenomenon, in smaller cities the adoption of pre-owned cars has skyrocketed in the last 1 year as per OLX with demand increasing by 130%. While personal mobility solutions remain the preferred option for few given the high ticket size, AdvtangeFund noticed that adoption of low ticket mobility solutions such as buses or transport options for last mile connectivity saw an almost 2x rise post the lockdown by a majority of the population. This was propelled by the fact that the segment saw reverse migration by blue collar workers from their villages to the cities. While the pandemic has impacted the transport sector and OEM's the experts were bullish on new age mobility solutions such as electric vehicles and flying taxis. Given the unavailability of proper road infrastructure EPlane envisions that flying taxis could not only help address the challenge of urban crowding by providing safe means of transport in the future but also would be easier to adopt for the industry vs electric vehicles.(ANI)