Global Virtual Reality (VR) in Automotive Market Research Report: Forecast (2022-2027)

The automotive industry is witnessing rapid adoption of Virtual Reality (VR) that helps enhance the skills of engineers & technicians while directly leading to more operational efficiency & reduced errors at times of assembling, designing, or prototyping the vehicle. Nowadays, automakers are increasingly seeking this technology across different products & sales processes, including research, designing, manufacturing, marketing, etc.

According to MarkNtel Advisors, the Global Virtual Reality in Automotive Industry is projected to witness around 41.32% CAGR during the forecast period, i.e., 2022-27. It owes to the mounting need for digitalization in retail practices and soaring requirements for virtual reality in the automotive sector due to its benefits like reducing the overall R&D & manufacturing costs, improving marketing & sales strategies by creating virtual platforms like showrooms & training, and minimizing driving risks by adopting prototyping & test driving, all in the virtual environment.

In addition, the rapidly increasing adoption of virtual reality to train engineers & technicians using tools & solutions like Autodesk VRED, Audi Virtual training, Ford Virtual Reality, etc., shall also boost the market in the coming years. Leading automotive brands like Mercedes-Benz are actively participating in the market.

The company has recently introduced its partnership with Microsoft Corporation, adopting its HoloLens 2 VR goggles & Dynamics 365 Remote Assist, principally to enhance the customer experience and improve its overall sales. Hence, such partnerships are expected to bolster the demand for VR solutions across the global automotive industry in the coming years, further states the research report, “Global Virtual Reality in Automotive Industry Analysis, 2022.”

Impact of Covid-19 on the Global Virtual Reality in Automotive Industry

• With the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the entire automotive industry observed a decelerating effect. However, Global Virtual Reality in the Automotive Industry underwent a positive impact.
• The imposition of stringent movement restrictions & frequent lockdowns by the governments of different countries worldwide to curb the spread of this dreadful disease led to the shutdown of the manufacturing units & banned public gatherings. 
• As a result, the automotive industry had to look for alternative methods to sustain amidst the crisis.
• Hence, the adoption of Virtual reality soared substantially to offer proper professional training to the technicians by maintaining social distance.
• The adoption of several tools & stimulators for designing & prototyping increased significantly, even amidst the work from home culture, and generated immense opportunities for the leading players.
• Moreover, the automotive industry also surged the demand for Virtual reality tools to create an implicit showroom as a platform for the customer for in-house virtual test driving.
• This trend is anticipated to prevail after the pandemic, thereby driving the market in the forecast period.

Market Segmentation:

Based on the Application, the Global Virtual Reality in Automotive Industry segments into:

• Designing & Prototyping
• Training
• Virtual Showrooms
• Research & Development

Of them all, the Design & Prototyping application is projected to attain the largest market share, owing principally to the capabilities of VR to reduce the production time & money by replacing the complicated process of building bulky physical prototypes with virtual prototyping. In addition, advantages like simplified research & development, fewer adjustment rounds, and quicker design process playing a crucial role in reducing the costs of the entire pre-manufacturing cycle are other crucial factors attributing to the mounting demand for Virtual Reality in vehicle design & prototyping. 

On the other hand, the Training application is expected to gain significant traction in the coming years since VR-based training solutions are highly beneficial for both manufacturing & after-sales processes that help trainers minimize their error rates. It ensures quick onboarding of trainees and their proficiency in sync with the brand image. Moreover, VR-based training software provides potential customers with safe & highly effective VR driving lessons, i.e., another crucial aspect fueling the overall market, states MarkNtel Advisors in their research report, “Global Virtual Reality in Automotive Industry Analysis, 2022.”

Based on the Component, the Global Virtual Reality in Automotive Industry segments into:

• Hardware
• Software
• Content

Here, the Hardware component is more likely to acquire a significant market share through 2027, primarily due to the rapidly increasing adoption of Virtual Reality headsets owing to its reducing costs. Numerous countries are investing substantially in research & development activities toward developing advanced VR devices, further augmenting the demand for VR hardware in the coming years.

On the other hand, the Software component is gaining considerable popularity due to the rapidly increasing technological advancements resulting in the extensive availability of virtual reality solutions for different applications like designing, prototyping, modeling, etc. 

For instance, Ford collaborated with Gravity Sketch to develop software to enable automotive designers to sketch through Virtual Reality using controllers & inspect the model from any angle by simply rotating it. This software allows Ford to reduce the processing time by leaping the conventional 2D designing process.

Regional Landscape

Based on the Geography, the Global Virtual Reality in Automotive Industry expands across:

• North America
• South America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• Middle East & Africa

Of them all, North America accounts for the largest market share through 2027, where the US shall witness the fastest market growth, primarily due to the active participation of prominent market players through substantial investments in the technological advancements of virtual reality. 

One of the most popular automakers in the US, Ford, uses HoloLens (mixed reality headset) developed by Microsoft that enables quick prototyping in the virtual environment. Using HoloLens, automotive designers can combine virtual & physical designs of cars, which immensely saves their time for making & reviewing the required changes. Hence, such an initiative shall create significant growth opportunities for the market players across North America.

On the other hand, Europe is projected to emerge as an opportunistic region for the market players since it is an early adopter of virtual reality technology. In 2020, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles attended the first-ever virtual Commercial Motor Show in Brussels and displayed the entire range of products & services on the virtual platform. The company also had its complete vehicle range on display, including the Volkswagen Crafter, Transporter, and Caddy vans. Moreover, Germany & France are also expected to gain considerable momentum in the market owing to the increasing adoption of virtual showrooms by automotive dealers across these countries to expand their consumer scalability. 

On the other hand, the market across Asia-Pacific shall display a rapid surge in the coming years, mainly due to the expanding automotive industries in countries like China, India, and Japan. The Automotive industry in China is heavily investing in bringing virtual reality to the sector for enhancing the efficiency & skills of technicians at manufacturing units.

Market Dynamics:

Key Drivers

• Capabilities of Virtual Reality to speed up the self-driving vehicle testing through multiple simulations
• VR Offers improved marketing & sales strategies in the automotive industry for better customer engagement
• Improved virtual presentation of car designs & features

Growth Restraints

• The communication gap might not deliver the utmost aim & vision of the company to the employees
• The inability of the Virtual Reality stimulator to provide flexibility during training sessions, like addressing & resolving doubts

Key Questions Answered in the Virtual Reality in Automotive Industry Research Report:

1. What are the overall statistics or estimates (Overview, Size- By Value, Numbers, Segmentation, Shares) of the Global Virtual Reality in Automotive Industry?
2. What are the region-wise industry size, drivers, and challenges?
3. What are the key innovations, opportunities, current & future trends, and regulations in the Global Virtual Reality in Automotive Industry?
4. Who are the key competitors, their key strengths & weaknesses, and how do they perform in the Global Virtual Reality in Automotive Industry based on the competitive benchmarking matrix?
5. What are the key results derived from surveys conducted during the Global Virtual Reality in Automotive Industry study?