Objective: This paper addresses the impact of today’s technology, digitization and transformation on the automotive industry leadership and security. Digital transformation development is the core success of automotive industry. Its power positively impacted industrial automation, operating cost, customer services and logistics, financial modelling and forecasting. The goal is to review literatures and research studies performed to detect Digital transformation current market trends.
Method: This paper is prepared based on electronic journals from scholar search engines such as Google Scholar, Scientific Research and Science Direct. Several keyworks were used to categorize subject articles, such as: “Digital Transformation, Digitization, Automobile, IoT, Manufacturing, Cybersecurity” Our search generated 41 relevant articles. Our resources were categorized based on its application and use. A total of 10 categories related to Manufacturing, Technological Impact, Business Strategy & Leadership, Innovation, Fabrication, Marketing, Reliability, Sustainability, Employment and Security.
Results: Most of the digital transformation application is advanced in the manufacturing automation of the automotive industry. Almost 68% of research papers are focused on Improvement – in technology, strategically and in manufacturing. About 17% address self-driving and electric vehicle and rest of 15% focuses on marketing and sustainability.
Keywords: Digital Transformation; Cybersecurity; Automotive; Manufacturing; Literature Review; Digitization.
Introduction
The introduction of a diverse range of emerging technologies, networks, and infrastructures has changed the way we live and work over the last decade. Almost all industries, both private and public, have been forced to investigate – and often had little choice but to implement – cutting-edge technology and its applications. A Digital Transformation Strategy is a course of action that outlines how an organization can reposition itself strategically in the digital economy. The way winning companies work shifts as consumer preferences change. They use digital technology to innovate, alter operating and business models, and take advantage of new technology. A digital transformation strategy, from the context of the technology industry, usually promotes the ability to complete previously manual tasks.
Rapid and disruptive change is nothing unusual in the automotive industry, and digital transformation is the next major anticipated issue. The fast-paced digitalization of the automotive industry is changing it from a component-hardware-driven industry to one that focuses on software and solutions. All areas of the automotive value chain will be digitalized in the future: from shorter product life cycles due to increased technological dependence, to the transformation of car dealerships, to the actual sales process, and retaining the customer relationship – everything will be driven by the opportunities and challenges that digitalization introduces.
However, the digital transformation and excellence negatively impacting the labor market. The need of automation and job substitution concerns the society. Studies shows there is impact on the manufacturing employment due to development of robotics and manufactory precision or quality requirements.
Literature Review
The automotive industry has benefited heavily from the digital transformation, in terms of both convenience and automation. The technology available for installation in cars has improved dramatically, and self-driving cars are now being explored as an option. Moreover, the manufacturing capabilities of automotive manufacturers have grown because of increased adoption of digital tools, enabling designs not possible before. The complete effects of the digital transformation are not yet known, as the industry is in the middle of transitioning. A literature review can help understand the impacts of the digital era and their significance better. Below table lists 41 identified articles related to the topic which were used in preparing this work. The table includes the focused domain, key technology used and the technique used to carry out the study.
Table 1: Table showing key technology used
Methodology
The paper is prepared based on electronic journals from scholar search engines such as Google Scholar, Scientific Research and Science Direct. Several keyworks were used to categorize subject articles, such as: “Digital Transformation, Digitization, Automobile, IoT, Manufacturing, Augmented reality, autonomous vehicle”. Refer to Table 1 for more details.
There are 41 collected articles to support our research. As shown in Table 2, our resources were categorized based on its application and use. A total of 7 categories related to Manufacturing, Technological Impact, Business Strategy & Leadership, Marketing and Sustainability. As illustrated in Table 2, the digital transformation applications are widely used in the automotive industry and plays a vital role in shaping the future of the automotive industry.
Table 2: Domain wise distribution
The distribution of articles by Journals and its country of publication is given in the below tables. The articles published are from 21 Countries where the most number of articles have come from Germany, followed by UK and USA. Papers from a total of 30 Journals are being studied.
Table 3: Distribution of articles by Journals
Table 4: Distribution of articles by Journals and its country of publication
Results and Analysis
The world is embracing the 4th industrial revolution, characterized by the integration of information and communication technology systems into different spheres of life. In this regard, the study was undertaken to review digital transformation in the automotive industry. Therefore, pertinent articles were identified using a combination of relevant keywords and then analyzed. A total of 41 journal references were utilized in the study, and the results were summarized in Tables 5, 6, and 7. Yearly distribution of articles, the frequency of different themes concerning digital transformation in the automotive industry, and a classification framework for digital transformation research interest were outlined in Tables 5, 6, and 7, respectively.
Yearly Distribution of articles Discussing Digital Transformation in the Automotive Industry
Just like many other fields, the automotive industry has undergone significant changes over the recent past due to technological advancement. The extend of digital transformation was illustrated by the yearly distribution of the 41 articles considered in the study, as defined by Table 1 and Chart 1.
Table 5. Yearly distribution of articles on digital transformation in the automotive industry.
Table 5 and Figure 1 illustrates that the research interest in digital transformation in the automotive industry has exponentially increased from 1997 to 2021. The interest increased from 2% to 34% for the years 2020 and 2021. Therefore, it can be concluded that more research is being directed on the digital transformation in the automotive industry, and it expected that more analysis would be conducted in this field in the future.
The Frequency of Different Themes Concerning Digital Transformation in the Automotive Industry
Forty-one journal articles were analyzed, and different topics about digital transformation in the automotive industry were identified. The frequencies of the varying themes were noted and recorded in Table 6.
Table 6. The frequencies of varying themes concerning digital transformation in the automotive industry are based on the 41 journal articles analyzed in the study.
Fourteen articles focus on the overview of the digital transformation in the automotive industry, touching on the past, present, and future aspects. Twelve pieces out of 41 analyze different technologies and software invention or modification which has been done to increase the efficiency of vehicles. Seven articles investigate the issue of sustainability, primarily how digital transformation addressed environmental pollution. The remaining five articles discuss autonomous vehicles, their impacts, and the progress of implementation. Table 6 illustrates that considerable research is being directed towards digital transformation in the automotive field, especially on different techniques and software development and enhancements.
A Classification Framework for Technological Changes
Based on the analysis of the 41 reviewed articles, it is possible to classify digital transformation in the automotive industry into three different aspects. The first transformation is concerned with the development of techniques and software to improve conventional systems. The second type of transformation is concerned with the implementation of autonomous vehicles, and the last category investigates strategies to ensure sustainability by reducing material wastages and minimizing pollution. Table 7 summarizes the classification of digital transformation in the automotive industry based on the research interest.
Table 7. The classification of the study of digital transformation in the automotive industry is based on the research interest.
Limitation
This paper had several limitations. First, this paper was limited to the auto industry revolutions only. However, additional review of different type of industries such as pharmaceutical, diary and food processing would be helpful comparison of this paper findings. A great future opportunity to support a better understanding of digital transformation problem. Second, energy optimization and utilization were missed in the discussion. This subject is an important reflection of automations. Third, additional research is required to conclude the future employment impact and transformation. Last, the study could be expanded to consider executive management and stakeholders’ contribution to the digital transformation and impact on society.
Conclusion
The auto industry digital transformation strategy promotes the ability to complete product that was previously manual made into fully integrated synergized product based on critical global and consumer requirements. Yet, satisfying data privacy and security. Mainly, the objective of this study was the identification and evaluation of 41 electronic journals in the framework of digital transformation. Industrial giants such BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Toyota and others determined the optimum manufacturing advancement through strategically organized and digitized production facilities. Essentially, reliability is an important concern in the auto industry. Its precision and strategy positively impacts product sustainability and maintenance strategies.
However, employment is at risk in the next 20 years or so as a result of automation and digitization revolution. The risk varies across occupations. The studies show that complex and highly skillful jobs are less likely to be substituted when compared to unskilled jobs.
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