Automotive, a sector exploring new routes
Laura Serrano
30 Settembre 2021

This article has been translated into English and was originally published in IPMARK

Laura Serrano, Renault Brand Director, OMD Spain, discusses the automotive landscape in Spain and how our proprietary data platform, the Fast Start Dashboard, helps clients detect trends and better understand consumer behaviour in IPMARK’s latest ‘Automotive 2021; report.

In 2020 we have experienced one of the greatest health crises in history, with a direct impact on the economy, with the automotive sector being one of the most affected sectors, which continues to suffer its effects, with a sharp drop in demand for vehicles. But Covid-19 has not been the trigger for a complex situation that had already manifested itself in the automotive industry. There are many other factors that have been transforming his career in recent times.

At OMD Spain we consider it very important to know these trends because behind them there is a new consumer, demanding new products, new environments and new ways of connecting and interacting with brands.

Application of preventive measures to alleviate contamination

This factor has made automotive brands start a long-distance race to reinvent themselves and radically adapt their business models, going from manufacturing combustion cars to electric cars in record time. Brands are now competing to lead the electrification of the car, whether with 100% electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid solutions. Renault, with its Renaulition Plan, is a real example of the transformation of the sector, which seems to rely on the electric vehicle to achieve leadership in 2025.

 

The pandemic has created a need for safe mobility

We are now facing a consumer aware of the need for more sustainable mobility and who, in addition, has seen their level of savings increased. On the other hand, manufacturers have made mobility solutions evolve. Different technologies on offer, almost all with a greater or lesser degree of electrification, other options not related to the acquisition, ranging from car sharing to renting in particular, unthinkable a few years ago. All this has shaped the market and the customer, who may have more questions, but also more information. Speaking from the experience with Renault, for example, the firm has worked to provide solutions and help resolve consumer doubts through its website where you can find consumption according to technology, comparisons between models, utilities that teach about the advantages of the electric vehicles. Everything to answer the doubts that the client may have autonomy, consumption, recharging stations, appraisal, financing, etc.

The pandemic has also generated an exponential increase in digital solutions and equipment, which has led to a component crisis that also impacts the supply of vehicles.

Brands bet on electrified technology

However, the great brakes in Spain continue to be the shortage of public recharging spaces that mean that autonomies of 400 km are not perceived as an advantage.

The consumer does an average of 30 km a day, the 400 km give him to go and return to work 10 days in a row. That is why it is important to expand the number of charging stations, especially in cities where pollution is more pronounced.

The recently launched MOVES III plan aims to change this trend and help the park’s transformation.

The great challenge today is to know who the consumers are.

All this means that brands are faced with the need to know who their potential buyers are and focus their communication on them. The diversification of touchpoints and the appearance of new targets has accelerated, so there is a demand to explore new platforms, work on audience strategies and look for the youngest profiles that we cannot find in traditional media.

Today, more than ever, the use of data and technology is essential to detect these trends. At OMD we have Fast Start Dashboard, our own data platform that allows us to detect trends and make decisions with agility, combining multiple data sources to provide a different look at buying habits, decision making, digital behaviour, media trends. and macroeconomic environment, with the aim of detecting insights and emerging opportunities for brands.

Because, given the uncertainty that exists and the wide range of options for consumers, media agencies must act as strategic consultants for brands, helping to identify business opportunities and to better understand a consumer who still needs to move and can today do it in many different ways adapted to your needs.

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