The automotive industry has undergone major transformations with the launch of new technologies and increasing investment in research and development activities. One of the emerging trends in the automotive industry is the autonomous vehicle technology, which is commonly known as autonomous or self-driving vehicles – one of the most disruptive innovations of this decade. Although autonomous vehicle technology seems futuristic, major automotive companies such as Tesla, Google, Toyota and Ford have been continuously testing ideas and directing efforts towards making driverless vehicles a reality. The autonomous vehicle technology exceeds the ability of human drivers in terms of safety and reliability.
Open Innovation in Automotive Industry – Yes or No?
Open innovation is a popular term that aims at solving tough challenges by soliciting breakthrough ideas from specialists with diverse backgrounds. The background diversity allows creative thinking and brings in different perspectives that offer a longer list of alternative options and possible solutions to the business challenges. Open innovation is essential in the automotive industry as it can help the major players like Fiat and BMW in their self-driving car development program in developing a technology blueprint. The autonomous vehicle technology requires a high amount of investment in terms of money, resources, and time as well as complex problem-solving capabilities, and expertise. Open innovation allows other automobile and tech companies to pitch their ideas and ensure the success of the autonomous vehicle technology.
The automotive industry can bring down the costs and time-to-market by leveraging expertise from different fields. Major automotive companies have considered acquisition, mergers, or partnerships with their market counterparts to gain an in-depth understanding of the challenges with the help of market intelligence services and devise effective solutions. However, till today autonomous vehicle technology is a big challenge faced by the automotive industry players, which can maybe be solved with the help of open innovation.