Transforming automotive industry in Europe

R&R Software supports domestic car manufacturers’ innovation activities with R & D & I activities.

According to a McKinsey study, car manufacturers’ innovation efforts need to take bigger account of global trends that are subverting the industry. Industry experts have been drawing attention for years to the new developments that will shape the automotive industry today and in the near future, including:

• Self-driving
• Electrical mobility
• “Connected Car” – application of IoT technologies in vehicles
• Community and business car sharing, “Car as a service”

Although the period of economic recovery after the crisis did not made it completely necessary to seek new ways, car manufacturers have started to change their strategy following their unbroken decline in sales since 2018, to be able to maintain their market position against the emerging brands and companies that interpret the above trends as the core value of their products, such as Tesla in the US. Innovation in sales channels of products and services has a key role also because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is currently causing huge losses in Europe’s car industry.

According to McKinsey, expanding their innovation activities in the CEE region could be a solution for automakers, as there is less competition for competent R&D capacity compared to Western Europe. Recognizing the potential, Hungary has made significant investments in recent years from its own resources and with the involvement of supported external resources, prioritizing the creation of domestic opportunities and devices for automotive innovation (eg. ZalaZone self-driving car test track).

As a decisive contender in the high value added Hungarian IT industry, R&R Software agrees with the conclusions of the McKinsey study and supports the “Innovated in Hungary” initiative. As an IT supplier to the domestic automotive industry, R&R Software feels its responsibility to participate in the development of innovative IT solutions that serves the sustainability of competitiveness, therefore continuously allocates significant resources.

As part of this endeavor, R&R Software launches an innovation project in 2020 to develop a supportive IT platform in line with the “car as a service” paradigm: the aim of the development is to enable automotive industry actors to serve their customers in accordance with the needs of the changing market, using new trade channels and methods. In order to reduce the economic risks of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, R&R Software is increasing its research and development and innovation activities, which, in addition to have a high added-value and competence-retaining effect, will provide a competitive advantage to R&R Software and its Customers in the post-crisis period, as has already been demonstrated after the 2008-2009 period.