“While standard fitment of cellular emergency systems and free trial subscriptions of connected services are responsible for robust connectivity penetration in the few vehicles that have been commercialized this year, the enormous contraction in new vehicle sales due to COVID-19 will make 2020 a flat year for connected cars,” explains Maite Bezerra, Smart Mobility and Automotive Analyst at ABI Research.
Despite a 19% drop in in-flight vehicle shipments by 2020, the industry will remain to blame for at least 30 million new cars on the road this year. In the U.S., 91% of new cars sold by 2020 will connect, compared to 51% in Asia-Pacific and 37% in Latin America. On the other hand, the secondary market locations segment will contract by only 12% year-on-year, which will have been mitigated through lower equipment costs and increased demand for older vehicle drivers without built-in connectivity. The connected automotive industry will resume steady expansion from 2021 to reach a market price of $75 billion by 2023. Asia-Pacific is the region with the greatest potential, achieving revenues of $27 billion in 2025, followed by North America with $21. billion in revenue.