IHS Markit forecast there will be 420 nameplates in the United States in 2026 compared with about 350 in 2018. This will lead to a new level of market crowding and prove challenging as the market slows.

Connected vehicles have provided users with myriad services to keep their connected lifestyle intact, while on the move. However, these connections also offer a potential surplus of opportunities to a burgeoning marketplace of data suppliers, brokers, aggregators, and buyers, hungry to monetize the value of connected vehicle data. Privacy concerns and scaling analytics and insights present considerable challenges. Yet, one thing is for sure: while the industry experiments—as a whole—with new business models, the value of data will become a central tenet of the future of mobility.

In 60 seconds: Trade friction, shifting currencies, increased electric propulsion, the impact of autonomous driving, and declining North American vehicle production make it a challenging time for automotive suppliers. They need to find new ways to adapt.

Listen to Chris Hopson as he discusses automotive demand in Canada.

Listen as IHS Markit’s Michael Robinet discusses how automakers are likely to introduce innovations.

Last decade electric powertrains looked poised to make a comeback. But the internal combustion engine (ICE) has made improvements of its own. Smaller engines with direct injection and turbochargers under the hood have given the ICE engine new life. Approximately 85% of vehicles produced by 2030 in the US will feature an ICE including some electric vehicles.

Average age of light vehicles set a new record in 2019 at 11.8 years. Better technology and overall quality improvements are key drivers of rising average vehicle age. Light vehicles in operation have also reached a record level with more than 278 million vehicles on the road. Both trends are very good for the automotive aftermarket.

The importance of China transcends its position as the largest global market. The regulatory structure promoting increased electrification as well as a number of startup OEMs in the BEV space underscore the longer-term Sino ambitions. Key global OEMs need to have China’s propulsion considerations as a central hub of future propulsion strategies – thus impacting economies of scale for the globe. Suppliers must have China’s impact on volume, technology and scale as a key focus for future strategy.

US light vehicle sales volumes from June 2019.

Sports cars have been in decline for more than a decade in the United States. Yet automakers demonstrate and refine performance technology through sports cars.