Latin America’s mobility future is about safety and flexibility
The Latin American passenger vehicle (PV) market is expected to achieve unit shipment of approximately 5.72 million units in 2019, growing at 4.3 percent year over year. This growth will largely be driven by the recovery of the Brazilian market and the rise of the SUV segment, which will account for almost 25.4 percent of the market following the release of new models and restyling.
However, one of the biggest trends in the market is the rapid convergence of technologies and automotive solutions. This is boosting urban mobility solutions like car-sharing, car-pooling, and micro-mobility companies in the region, prompting the development of service-based business models.
“OEMs such as Toyota and Nissan adventured in car-sharing and Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) models, while companies like Grin and Lime launched the shared-scooters business model in 2018. Delivery service apps and B2B eCommerce platforms like Reparador also experienced a phase of accelerated growth,” said Martín Singla, Mobility Industry Analyst. “Similarly, automotive retailing and the aftermarket process are being disrupted by digitalization, online customization and customer-oriented tools, on-demand responsive services, and novel store formats. It is crucial for players across the entire automotive value chain to embrace these transformations to ensure customer loyalty.”
Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, Latin America Passenger Vehicle Outlook 2019, covers the market performance and top transformative factors impacting the industry in 2019. It presents forecasts by country and analyzes MaaS solutions, electric vehicles (EVs), and technology trends in safety and security standards. It also examines players and disruptions in new retailing imperatives.
“Three of the biggest trends in the regional PV market are the penetration of Chinese OEMs with low-priced products, the potential opening up of Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and the restructuration of the United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USCMA),” noted Singla. “In response to these changes, a general automotive industry modernization plan, Rota 2030, was established. This plan strengthens product competitiveness by setting short- and mid-term targets to improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions, tighten safety and security standards, and set a fiscal incentive regime to promote R&D in specific high-end strategic areas.”
In the highly dynamic and technology-forward market, automobile OEMs can create growth opportunities by:
- Heavily investing in integrated mobility services and testing their own mobility initiatives or partnering with consolidated players.
- Enhancing their competitiveness in emerging sectors like EVs, as powertrain offerings, amongst other technologies, become increasingly diversified.
- Developing the agility to deal with more stringent safety and security as well as structural design standards.
Latin America Passenger Vehicle Outlook 2019 is part of Frost & Sullivan’s global Automotive & Transportation Growth Partnership Service program.
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