Below will be some key trends in the automotive industry in 2020.

Self- driving cars

Self-driving cars are likely to be fully commercialised by 2026. However, there will be more roads trails and investments in 2020. One of the ambitious promises is from Tesla founder Elon Musk, who is aiming to supply full self-driving cars by the end of 2020.

Solar Powered Cars 

Some of the solar-powered cars are already being tested and could be considered closer to production in 2020. Several automakers are working at a very rapid pace for the developments of solar power cars, which will give a big advantage to the EV market. While some manufacturers are also trying to develop hybrids with solar power.

Increased use of carbon fibre

Light weighting will continue to be the top trend to comply with environmental regulations. Some OEMs are still focusing on aluminium, but others will move towards carbon fibre for both internal body structure as well as external components such as hoods and doors.
In 2020, the AB Volvo forthcoming Polestar 1, hybrid plug-in, and Polestar 2, EV, will use carbon fibre for the inner structure to decrease weight and increase strength.
Ford chooses carbon fibre wheels to be equipped in Mustang GT350R and Shelby GT500. It is expected that the automotive carbon fibre market will see a growth of around 10% in the coming five years.

Electrification

Electrification in the automotive sector will continue to be the key change in 2020. In 2020, it is expected that a wide range of EVs to be available in the market, such as Tesla Model Y, Volkswagen ID.3, Rivian R1T Truck, BMW iX3, Byton M-Byte, Mercedes EQC, and Honda Urban EV.

Digital platforms

Automakers are investing heavily in developing digital platforms for a wide range of applications from operations to infotainments. The GM new system is capable of managing 4.5 terabytes of data processing per hour, which is now present in the latest Cadillac CT5 sedan, and it will be introduced in 2020. BMW is to upgrade its vehicle line-up with over-the-air (OTA) software version 7.0. There will be some developments around 5G technologies, which will rapidly increase data transmission speed and reduces response time for connection between vehicles.