Audi, BMW and Mercedes first introduced connected cars with inbuilt Wi-Fi
As per Counterpoint’s latest Connected Car Services report, for the first time ever, the connected car penetration (50.5%) surpassed that of non-connected cars globally in the second quarter of 2022. The report reveals that car manufacturers are gradually shifting to factory-fitted embedded connectivity starting from the base model itself. This is causing a steady fall in non-connected car sales.
Volkswagen, Toyota, GM, Stellantis and Hyundai – these top five companies sold around half of all the cars this quarter. Senior Analyst Soumen Mandal said, “From a global perspective, Volkswagen, Toyota and General Motors groups lead the market due to large volumes and high connectivity penetration within their portfolios.”
As cars are becoming more software-centric and enabling digital cockpit and autonomous driving, automakers are using onboard computers for next-gen connected mobility. It is noteworthy that Audi, BMW and Mercedes introduced connected cars with inbuilt Wi-Fi, to the market.
Geographically speaking, the US stood first in connected car sales this quarter, followed by China and Europe. Mandal commented: “The US market trailed China in terms of connected car sales in the first quarter of this year. However, with the resurgence of COVID-19 and plant shutdowns in China from March onwards, the US overtook China. China was the first country to introduce 5G cars back in 2020 with models like the Arcfox Alpha-T, Roewe Marvel R and Great Wall Motors Haval HG. Major automakers such as Audi and BMW entered the market in 2021 and 2022 by launching models like the Audi A7L/A6L and BMW iX respectively. Government initiatives along with a push from state-owned telecom operators regarding the deployment of 5G networks have given China the first-mover advantage.”
Counterpoint makes it clear that sales here refer to wholesale figures, i.e. deliveries out of factories by respective brands, and consider only passenger cars with embedded connectivity.
