The automotive companies are no longer being car manufacturers to become service providers and generators of new experiences.
The change, which is currently underway, is one of the largest that the industry has experienced since its inception. And it is inevitable.
The exploration of these new businesses arose mainly due to two factors:
- The preferences of consumers are no longer the same and the vast majority are not likely to spend money on maintaining a car.
- The problem of traffic in large cities, increasingly congested, with complications to travel with one vehicle per person.
Thus, the main global automotive companies are advancing in the digital transformation with systems that guarantee the displacement of the customer quickly and economically.
In Latin America, it will happen sooner rather than later. And, at the local level, the trend is also irreversible. In some terminals they even have developments thinking not to be left behind in an industry that accelerates towards a market that is far from being the current one.
The first steps
One of the brands that is going through this process is Toyota. In November, he launched his Toyota MobilityService, a system that allows you to choose any brand car to use for an hour, a day or as long as the customer requires.
The vehicle must be removed from an official dealer and can be returned in another. Gradually, more points will be incorporated throughout the country to be more flexible and reach more users.
After this announcement, the one that hurried the step to present something similar in concept of disruptive change in mobility is Volkswagen, as confirmed to iProUP Pablo Di Si, CEO and president of the company for the region.
The manager, who has his offices in San Pablo, Brazil, visited the country to announce very relevant changes. One of the most outstanding topics was the incorporation of new technologies, ranging from service in dealerships to mobility. And, obviously, VW's recent alliance with Ford.
As an absolute first, Di Si confirmed to iProUP the implementation of "five mobility services programs to develop in Latin America, one of which will be tested in Argentina in the near future".
As for the characteristics of the proposals, he explained that there are several models. One of them is carsharing (shared car), which takes the foundations of MOIA, the company that created Volkswagen in Germany.
"MOIA is a company that connects the car with a new world of mobility and personalized transportation services globally," he said.
Immediately after, he assured that "there is a second line of business that is carpooling (car sharing system among several travelers who divide the expenses)".
The objective of this initiative is to establish the bases for the company to have a central role in mobility systems. To the point that VW and has planned that a substantial part of their income will come from these business units over time.
Another system that Volkswagen will launch will be that a person can use a car that withdraws from a station located in one point of the City and may return it in another.
"The important thing is that you do not have a fixed point in which to deliver the vehicle, but you can do it anywhere, within a certain perimeter," Di Di told iProUP.
This model, already used by many brands and specialized companies, has the advantage that it is faster and more agile than car rental or renting. For this reason, it differs from the case of Toyota, since in its program only cars can be removed from dealerships.
"We have already started with the pilot tests and I would very much like it to be carried out in Argentina," said Di Si to the iProUP question about how advanced the initiative was.
Innovation in dealers
In addition to the mobility services, with which the firm wants to revolutionize the Argentine market, Volkswagen is focusing on improving and speeding up attendance at dealerships.
"We started working on the so-called Digital Island, it is a 360 degree screen system that will be used in the points of sale, which means a change of direction in the commercialization process," Di Si told iProUP.
Its operation is based on a large screen installed in the premises, where customers can interact with the monitor by selecting the model of the car they want, equipment, color and tires, among other details.
Once the design is done, the person will live a 3D experience with that car that she herself chose by putting on some glasses that allow them to "enter" in an immersive environment.
"The buyer plays with virtual reality, he can also choose the price, if he wants to pay it in cash or in installments, how much and in what term," said Di Si.
"A new process begins in the dealership's relationship with the people, and the client will make his own choice by living a different experience," he said.
On the other hand, the manager clarified that it will not affect the business of the sellers. "On the contrary, the good thing is that they will not need to invest so much money, they could be smaller structures and they will work side by side to be more efficient", he clarified.
As for the deadline for it to be underway, it is estimated that in March it will be operating in three concessionaires in the Federal Capital.
Toyota redefines its business
The automotive companies have been dedicating a good part of their resources in analyzing what services they can offer to facilitate the daily transfers of people. Many of them are already a reality in the country.
The transformation of mobility reveals the big brands, especially when it comes to cities where traffic does not give respite.
The concern is also related to another aspect: the new generations are not very interested in having a car stored in the garage and pay a high maintenance cost. In general, they prefer to mobilize without much responsibility and request a vehicle at the time they need it.
Attentive to the changes, the automotive companies are evaluating how to survive when the fact of having a 0km ceases to be a priority for consumers. Far from being a long-term problem, this issue, which is already a reality in developed countries, has landed in Argentina.
"What is coming is another use of the car by customers, they no longer want belonging, but experience," said Daniel Herrero, president of Toyota Argentina.
"We have the challenge of moving from being a company that makes cars to being a mobility company, the idea is that the person has the vehicle they want, when and where they want, according to their need," he added, summarizing in a few words. the abysmal change that the automaker has faced.
And they explain the reason for the launch of the Toyota MobilityService, a system that launched the firm and consists of using any of its models for a specific time and then returning it to one of its dealerships.
Herrero explained to iProUP that, with his new service, he started one of the biggest challenges of recent times.
The service works in the following way: the interested party downloads an app on the cell phone and automatically reserves a car. The models available range from the Etios, the most economical, to the Hilux and the SW4, the most expensive.
The platform also includes Lexus, the high-end proposal recently launched in the country by the Japanese automaker.
Mercedes Benz
But this option of the Japanese company is not the only one available in Argentina. Mercedes Benz also has a customized mobility system and extended its services to other companies in the field.
This is teneslugar.com, which allows the employees of the associated companies to connect to share the car on the way to work.
"In 2012, we inaugurated the first Business Innovation branch in Latin America in Buenos Aires, a platform to identify and develop new business initiatives, creating products and proposals in areas such as mobility, digital services, project infrastructure, energy and education, among others. "Josefina Furlong, head of RSE at Mercedes-Benz Argentina, explained to iProUP.
This headquarters is the fourth in the world within the Daimler group and the Argentine capital was chosen because it has two ideal characteristics for the local development of Business Innovation: great potential to generate new ideas and because it is a megacity that already suffers problems related to mobility.
"In Daimler, the mobility of the future has four pillars: connectivity, autonomous driving, sharing & services and electric driving, which is why we have given teneslugar.com life."
So far, there are 14 companies in the Mercedes-Benz Argentina network, including Bayer, La Caja, Renault Group, Samsung, L'Oreal Argentina, Metrogas, Andreani, Viacom, Sustainable AG, CofcoInt, ESET, Smurfit Kappa, Bristol -Myers Squibb and Ag Servicios Farmacéuticos SA
During 2018 they registered more than 3,227 trips in shared cars, 192 active drivers, 450 passengers and more than 11,250 potential users.
By registering at teneslugar.com you can already be part of the service, coordinating with employees of the different participating companies to share the trips.
"We work to identify and create new mobility solutions for the country and the region, for the development of the initiatives, innovation workshops were held, meetings with companies, universities and social actors with potential to create new business for the group", concluded Furlong.
