The automobile sector in India may be witnessing comparatively challenging times in the near short-term, however, the country’s position as being among the top five markets in the global automobile landscape remains as intact as ever. While the focus generally is around the new vehicles sold, a key element of revenue contribution also comes from the aftersales provided by the automobile manufacturers and their dealerships around the country. The consumer is constantly looking for a level of ecosystem experience even in an economy car that was expected only from luxury vehicles in the recent past.
The aftersales segment within the automobile industry appears healthy amidst all the turmoil. For instance, according to a report by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) under the name “Transformation Shifts in Mobility and Impact on Aftermarket in India”, the aftersales market industry in India has grown at a rate of 14% CAGR between 2014-2019. The report elaborates that this market is bound to touch about Rs 75000 crores by 2020. While the aftersales services industry seems to be growing, there is a tremendous and consistent need for improvising on networking, introducing new concepts on mobility, electrification and innovations to meet ever-evolving customer needs and demands.
Within Aftersales, fault prediction or proactive maintenance now plays a prime role in managing the high expectations of customers. It is because of fault prediction that one can proactively identify potential breakdown points or major failure in the vehicle and thereby score high on customer delight. With the government’s BS6 initiative, it would become compulsory for all the Auto OEMs to have new vehicles equipped with telematics devices so that the real-time running status is known of the vehicle. Right measures can be taken up using this telematics data to check whether the vehicle is running at an optimum level. With electronically generated faults codes, it would be easier to know the parameter out of threshold value or whether any minor fault code could lead to major fault code.
Furthermore, automobile manufacturers across the globe face tremendous challenges in getting timely information on the effective working condition of vehicles that are critical to reduce maintenance costs and undertake timely repairs. It is, therefore, becoming important to identify the faults and failures before they occur. With the emergence of technology as a key element in the overall scheme of things in the automobile sector, AI and IOT are the solutions to the problem at hand.
Telematics devices equipped with machine learning capabilities are using a predictive algorithm to identify potential faults or probable breakdowns, thereby enabling seamless continuity and hence customer delight as mentioned earlier.
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But what exactly is Telematics and how does it pre-empt potential eventualities:
Telematics combines GPS with on-board diagnostics with a cross-reference on how a vehicle is behaving internally. With Telematics, it is possible to record and map, if there are any internal issues and how fast is it travelling. Digital thinking and networking through Telematics Device can offer manufacturers with a 360-degree view of customers and new ways of interacting with them by offering them direct solutions to their problems. Telematics Device not only offers high-quality maintenance solutions but also enhances the entire life-cycle management of the vehicle by offering solutions on the right parts that need to be put in, right labour quotes that need to be put in for smooth functioning of the maintenance process allowing smooth customer service where they can create a claim on the OEM, followed by the possible claim reimbursement.
With the rise in various models of vehicles, the services & maintenance tasks have assumed a complex nature. However, new age transformative technologies such as digitization have emerged as saviour and are helping transform the aftersales value chain for the automobile industry. Telematics equipped with Machine Learning and AI is one of the best illustrations of this phenomenon and the benefits arising out of it are all grabs for the automobile industry.
Author: Roop Singh, Executive Director, ATCS India
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the original author. These views and opinions do not represent those of The Indian Express Group or its employees.
