Service and data driven business models pave the way towards owning the customer relationship.

In a ubiquitously connected age with the trends connectivity and digitalization sky rocketing, business models throughout numerous industries are swift to change disruptively. Consumers in automotive will increasingly demand digital products and services in and around the vehicle, which creates the need for OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to detach themselves from their merely product and technology-driven past. In order to generate additional revenue streams in future, OEMs need to transform into becoming consumer oriented service providers (Grid masters).

The results of this year’s survey show that executives have different opinions when it comes to the business model of traditional auto companies in 2025. The core question is if traditional automakers, or rather players from the converging ICT industry such as Google or Apple, will become the main player at the customer interface. When creating a business model that aims to manage the customer interface, data becomes the fuel. Consumers are, next to themselves, most likely to trust their data or even give data ownership to an OEM rather to an ICTplayer, if they can build trust to the brand behind it.

Self-driving technology could become one of the biggest challenges for the traditional business model, and OEMs should aim to develop strategies to serve customers of self-driving vehicles. The results of the survey show that consumers are most attracted by a reflection in TCO – an incentive OEMs can offer by offsetting the total cost of ownership driving a car, but ICT companies are surely not in the position to.