Three automotive trends to look for in 2022

What trends can we look out for this year in the automotive space? According to Dawn Alcott at Go Banking Rates, "If you look at the top three automotive trends for 2022, you may think it’s a page straight out of the Tesla playbook. Cars.com, a car-shopping marketplace, identified three trends driving [the] consumer motor vehicle business for the year." 

From left to right: Tesla Model X, Model S, and Model 3 (Source: EVANNEX; Photo by Casey Murphy)

So what are these trends? The three to look out for are: 1) pre-orders of vehicles; 2) digital car-buying processes; and 3) the electric vehicle boom. Alcott writes, "Since the company’s inception, Tesla has been leading the pack in all three areas... [meanwhile] other manufacturers are accelerating their processes to keep up with Tesla, and the mainstream auto market is adopting these trends."

Customer pre-orders are taking off in the auto industry. And it's not just Tesla's Cybertruck — Ford is taking pre-orders for their F-150 Lightning truck too. According to the Cars.com report, "41% of new car shoppers plan to pre-order their next vehicle... [while] 16% of auto buyers have tried pre-ordering and, of those, 98% were happy with the experience."

"In addition to placing pre-orders online, 38% of current car buyers expect to complete the car buying process online," according to Alcott. Tesla led this trend early on but traditional automakers are looking to follow in the company's footsteps. 

Arguably, the biggest trend representing the future of the auto industry is the move to electric vehicles. Alcott reports, "While Tesla remains the top-selling electric vehicle in the U.S., led by its affordable Model 3, consumers are likely to demand even more choices moving forward... Cars.com reports that searches for EVs on the website have nearly doubled since 2020."

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Source: Go Banking Rates via Cars.com