Environmental policies due to climate change prioritize the need to use renewable energy. Referring to renewable energy, a noteworthy mention goes to the Electric vehicle industry. Today, the key conquest for researchers is how Digitalization can transform the EV industry.
The conquest question is natural because Digitalization has assisted several industries in gaining remarkable growth and transformation. But how can it transform the actively evolving EV industry? In this article, we will uncover how Digitalization will not only boost the EV industry through technology but also transform the EV industry into a “Smart” EV industry.
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How does the EV industry take an edge over the existing vehicle industry?
As consumer desires are developing with respect to accessibility, connectivity, real-time or on-demand services, and deliverability, the need for security, intelligent solutions, and convenient systems is rising. The current vehicle industry has not shown the smartest innovations, which is why consumers have expectations from EV Industry.
Further, electric vehicles achieve zero emissions being safe for the environment and humans by offering the following:
Renewable solutions for the consumers
EVs offer renewable energy solutions for the transportation sector. However, it is also important to uncover the concept of dirty power. An Electric Vehicle needs 25-50 kWh of energy to travel 160 Km of distance. The overall electric consumption can increase by 40% by 2050 if Electric vehicles replace the current vehicle system.
So, the solution for the electricity must be associated with renewable energy, else the emissions of greenhouse gases would remain the same either by combustion of petrol/diesel/gas or by electricity generation. If the EV industry uses solar energy, EVs will be an optimum renewable solution for the transportation industry.
Lower carbon emissions in the environment
When EV cars were launched, they were not helping much in reducing carbon emissions. It was because of the higher electricity demand. However, modern EVs are delivering better results with rapid decarbonization.
For example, the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3 are charging for half the CO2 required to charge EVs earlier. Indian giants, Mahindra Group and Reliance have joined hands for EV and low-carbon solutions. The future looks promising in terms of lower carbon emissions in the EV industry.
Vast Digital opportunities in the EV industry
When we explore Digital opportunities in the EV industry, there are no limitations. The technology relies heavily on electricity to integrate its systems. EVs are capable of assistance systems, health monitoring, battery management systems, big data analytics, auto-driving mode, and much more. We will explore these digital technologies with respect to the EV industry in detail later in this article.
Hence, with greener & cleaner solutions, lower carbon emissions, and digital opportunities, the EV industry takes a strong edge over the current vehicle industry.
What opportunities does Digitalization bring to the EV industry?
According to Robert McDonald, “With digital technology it is now possible to have one on one relationships with every consumer in the world.” Digitalization improves business insights using the tools that the digital world offers to the EV industry. Whether it is about building collaborative spreadsheets to work on or presenting the growth chart of the year to the team, Digitalization makes the whole process flexible and efficient.
Digitalization also improves the overall supply chain process in EV organizations. Replacing the manual processes of the supply chain with digital technology enables streamlined operations, enhanced management, and boosted visibility.
Customer experience grows exponentially with the use of digital technologies. Customers can approach the websites of EV companies, book service slots, or buy equipments. They can also consult with experts in case they face issues with their EV vehicle. In a nutshell,
Digitalization offers the following opportunities:
- Better business insights with the use of technologies like Big data
- Optimizes supply chain by eliminating manual processing
- Building better customer experience through mobile apps and websites
- Enabling better decision-making to eliminate the disconnected systems
Now that we have explored how Digitalization brings better opportunities for the EV industry, it’s time to actually look over the technologies converting the EV industry to a smart EV industry.
Digital solutions are transforming the EV industry into Smart EV industry
Digitalization brings numerous technologies to the EV industry, allowing it to become a smart industry. Here are the most common ones.
Artificial Intelligence and machine learning
AI is one of the most popular terms associated with the EV industry. The industry is largely exploring the dynamics involved in AI with EVs.
Through Artificial intelligence, EV companies can introduce algorithms that optimize the charging time frame of batteries. AI can continuously read the patterns associated with a specific vehicle and optimize the battery according to the identified patterns. Next, the auto-driving mode is highly inspired by machine learning and Artificial intelligence.
However, auto-driving technology is still in development since engineers must determine a nearly infinite number of test cases in the algorithms. Planning the route is also possible through AI in case the car is running out of electricity and want to reach the nearby charging station soon.
TWAICE, a German startup company, monitors battery health using machine learning and sensor data, showcasing the power of Digitalization in the Electric Vehicle industry.
IoT solutions in the electronic vehicles industry
IoT has a significant contribution to the EV industry. With BMS Monitoring, it is possible to monitor the battery-related parameters and get a report on any of your digital devices. IoT solutions further offer theft proofing to the EVs, giving a great advantage to the EV owners where they can track their cars easily if stolen.
Further, the EV industry can fit Crash detection accelerometers in the EVs to help customers in case of accidents. Whenever a severe accident occurs, the crash detector can call the emergency numbers of the customers.
A good example of a smart IoT device is OVO Energy which uses smart charging by balancing the charging patterns according to energy demands saving costs for the EV drivers.
Similarly, Electric Vehicle industry leader Tesla uses the internet of things in its cars to fix and improve its cards remotely by running remote diagnostics. Hence, IoT undoubtedly brings a vast list of features, functionalities, and opportunities making the EV industry smart.
Driving analytics with EV Telematics
EV Telematics can efficiently provide Driving analytics. The Digital Tachometer Graph gathers data to identify the state of the vehicle. The driving analytics are produced after analyzing parameters like Over speeding during journeys, malfunctioning history, warnings, exceptional events, time traveled for multiple journeys, and more.
With the collected data and prepared insights, EV vehicles deliver better routes, speed limits, service statuses, and more, enhancing the driving experience for the customers.
Tech-driven Infrastructure for the EV industry
The production of EVs with high-tech systems and robots helps the EV industry to achieve cost-cutting models. Further, the manufacturing process becomes faster, more efficient, and more suitable for mass production. However, the major disadvantage of heavy technology-based manufacturing is unemployment. Yet, Digitalization will make EV manufacturing units smarter with Robots handling mass production.
BMW is using automation to move equipment and parts in the factory and using data analytics to monitor production. Referring to infrastructure again, technology will enable charging infrastructure. For every charging service, the tech-driven infrastructure will facilitate payment integration through smart devices like customers’ smartphones.
Biometric authorization to deliver ultimate security
Digitalization is extensively promoting the use of Biometric Authorization in smart devices, whether they are smartphones or computers. At the majority of institutions, biometric Authorization is leading the way of Authorization. The Electric Vehicle industry can deliver ultimate security through biometric Authorization in their vehicles.
Whenever a user enters a car, he or she must pass the biometric Authorization to further access the features of the car. One such patent is with Google, known as “Biometric authentication for connected vehicles including autonomous vehicles.”
Wrapping up
Digitalization offers a range of opportunities to the Electric Vehicle industry, making them smarter and more efficient. With smart digital solutions, the EV industry will register exponential growth and efficiency in mass production and customer experience. EV companies can use technologies to gain better business insights and enhance decision-making. The IoT solutions, AI & ML, EV Telematics, and tech-driven infrastructure stands as strong elements in converting the EV industry into a smart EV industry and offer what customers are looking for in the digital era.