Smart equipment, predictive diagnosis and self-learning software able to act independently. These are just some of the innovations to which mechatronic specialists, body shops and tire dealers will have to pay special attention to in order to capitalize on their full potential and avoid being “scrapped”.
 

Special alloys, compounds, shape-memory polymers and metamaterials. The automotive industry continues on its quest to create more efficient vehicles. Exhaust pipes capable of recovering energy from heat, self-repairing tires and chassis able to switch from rigid to flexible in case of accidents. These are some of the possible applications of new and groundbreaking materials still in the testing phase.
 

Since their appearance in the advertising and marketing fields, augmented reality and virtual reality are becoming increasingly familiar also in the automotive industry, with new applications aimed at enhancing the designing phase as well as sales and service strategies.

“Intelligent” tires thanks to cutting-edge sensors placed in the tread. Microchips able to detect the conditions of the road, the surrounding environment and to monitor pressure and temperature in order to adapt the behavior of the vehicle. These are just some of the changes that are already affecting the automotive sector and will soon become everyday reality.
 

Several manufacturers have already developed highly innovative and hybrid solutions designed to increase efficiency. Completing the picture, the 48V power supply revolution. A new technical horizon that specialists must learn to face within a few years.

The work of the European Commission on the definition of a standardized vehicle data access platform continues without let up. A study is, in fact, currently evaluating the feasibility of the proposals on the table. Meanwhile, German manufacturers and component suppliers have signed an agreement to support a system in which all data will have to pass through a car manufacturer's portal, which, on paper, meets all the free-competition policy requirements, but in reality is causing many sleepless nights for a number independent workshops.
 

“Self-driving cars” will greatly limit the number of accidents on the roads and old insurance policies will soon be eliminated. Nevertheless, according to Matteo Carbone, director of the Connected Insurance Observatory, new policies against cyber risks, integrated services as well as the use of the so called “black box” represents a new business opportunity for insurance companies.
 

Electricity represents mobility’s future, yet the expensive battery packs and the lack of a suitable recharging infrastructure is slowing down its diffusion. The 35% threshold of eco-friendly vehicles circulating worldwide will be reached no sooner than 2040. This is how Italy is moving compared to the rest of Europe.
 

Self-driven, always connected and able to communicate with people, objects and surrounding infrastructures. Connected cars are bound to change the automotive market as well as the aftermarket. A challenge for vehicle manufacturers, traditional OEMs and hi-tech enterprises, wherein “cyber security” will play a crucial role.