Why car manufacturers continue to invest in technology

The automotive industry is a competitive one. Whether it’s your average family sedan, your work ute, or a premium sports car, every vehicle manufacturer invests in the latest technology to keep ahead of the competition. Here in Australia, the vehicle market is saturated. From domestics to imports, it seems like a new car is launched every week across the country and every new car release seems to be crammed with more technology than the last.   Whilst many car buyers are swayed by how the car looks on the outside, it’s actually what’s on the inside that we should all be paying more attention to.   The way a car looks is extremely subjective. Customers tend to be loyal to a brand they have driven all their lives, or maybe they just really like the look of the latest release. However you look at things, what appeals to one buyer does not always appeal to the next.    Let’s say you’re in the market for a new hatchback. A mate tells you that the new VW Golf is an absolute beauty of a vehicle but you’re not convinced. You’ve always liked the look of the Ford Focus and you like that it has traditionally been manufactured in Australia (although that sadly ceased in 2016).   There is no doubt that the Golf and the Focus are both great cars. They both look good and if you are picking a car on looks alone, then it really does come down to personal preference.    Instead, you should be focussing on what’s on the inside, not how it looks on the outside.   Technology is one area where you can get more bang for your buck. In this report by Start Us Insights, they found that the automobile industry is one of the biggest adopters of new technology and this can make all the difference, both in terms of the performance of the vehicle, and also the resale value.   Technology in the automobile industry has come a long way in the past decade. Many of today’s young drivers won’t even remember a time when electric windows and air conditioning were not standard on the cars that they drive. In the past, these features would be limited to “premium” vehicles and the best you could hope for in the more basic models was to wind your window down by hand to let in some cooler air.   Thankfully, times have changed. Innovative technology is being adopted across entire fleets of new vehicles and the features that were once considered to be “premium” now come as standard to all vehicles.   Imported vehicles have been a big driver of this. Low-cost models from overseas were coming into Australia packed full of features you couldn’t get on the more expensive domestics and so they had to play catch up or quickly get left behind. Adaptive cruise control, touchscreen displays, rearview cameras and other safety systems are now not only standard features on private vehicles, but they are now also found on a huge range of utes, vans and other work vehicles, adding comfort to the practicality of a working vehicle. It’s not just the vehicle industry that is benefitting from advances in technology. Businesses around the world are turning to technology in a bid to increase profitability, investing millions of dollars in R&D to develop solutions that can boost productivity. Here are two of the industries benefitting from technology:

Online Gaming

The online gaming sector has boomed over the past decade and those gaming brands that continue to invest in technology are the ones that continue to thrive. From the development of 3D graphics to online games that allow people to play against each other, no matter where they are located, are all game-changers. Technology such as facial recognition, voice recognition, gesture controls and virtual reality are all changing the ways in which people engage with games online. Betway Casino are constantly investing in the latest technology in a bid to provide customers with the best possible experience when gaming with them online as well as providing an ultra-secure environment. The introduction of cloud-based technology has made online gaming much more accessible and allows players to play the games they are interested in without making a significant investment in computers and game consoles.

Hospitality

Gaming is an obvious industry when it comes to investment in technology. Gaming is inherently a tech-focused sector, however, it is not just these types of industries that are continuing to invest in technology in order to deliver a better experience for customers. From the hotel chains that are investing in biometric technology in order to improve the customer experience, eradicating the need for room key cards or the local supermarket investing in contactless payment technology in a bid to keep up with the large supermarkets, technology is impacting us at every turn. In the near future, we will also see the introduction of pay-by-face technology in shops, supermarkets, restaurants, and hotels, leading to more frictionless interactions and further reducing the need for people to carry cash or even their bank cards.  The world is edging ever closer to becoming a cashless society, with many countries already making that shift. The Guardian reported that “Cards only overtook cash as the consumers’ preferred mode of payment in the UK in 2017 – with contactless accounting for 40% of transactions. The shift has been dizzyingly rapid.”