Original Article, M. Bertoncello et al., McKinsey & Company, February 11, 2021
Connected cars provide a unique customer experience while simultaneously delivering cost and revenue benefits to mobility companies, including OEMs, suppliers, dealers, insurers, fleets, tech players, and beyond. To date, however, most players have overlooked opportunities to monetize data from these vehicles—a significant oversight, considering how companies in other industries are aggressively generating value from data. In fact, seven of the ten most valuable companies in the world already generate billions in profits from data-based services. These businesses include both new attackers and tech companies. Players in traditional industries are increasingly following the same path and transitioning from hardware to software-as-a-service (SaaS) and subscription businesses.
The automotive landscape may now be more amenable to using data from connected cars. To help mobility companies that want to pursue opportunities in this area, we assessed the potential market value of data-based services, investigated promising use cases, and identified levers that they can apply to improve their chances of success.