Exclusive: How in-car technology reshaped the car buying behaviour in India

We got in touch with Prathab Deivanayagham, Managing Director at Harman India to understand the new age-tech in vehicles and how it’s reshaping India’s automotive industry.

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Back in the day, a car used to be a prized possession, a machine that only the rich could afford. With the arrival of Maruti 800, cars became a household objects, and a thing of necessity. However, for the longest of times, cars were bought keeping in mind factors like low cost and more mileage. With the arrival of IT revolution, cars are no longer just mechanical objects.

They now combine electronics with hardware giving a new driving experience to the buyers and hence the importance of technology, more specifically systems like infotainment systems has increased. We got in touch with Prathab Deivanayagham, Managing Director at Harman India to understand the new age-tech and how it’s reshaping India’s automotive industry.

Growing demand of high-quality infotainment systems

The consumerization of the automotive industry is driving rapid change in not only the way consumers engage with cars, but also in what they expect their vehicles to deliver. Today, consumers expect their vehicles to mirror their technology habits outside the car with experiences that are hyper-personalized and deliver new levels of connectivity, productivity, and safety.

Which means, creating connected mobility experiences that deliver specific driver benefits and allow OEMs to provide great consumer experiences and make the lives of drivers and passengers easier, more personalized, and more connected. A glance into the interior of any car at an auto show these days will tell you that digital displays are in the ascendance.

Advances in display technology such as QLED and OLED, the familiarity and instinctiveness with which consumers now interact with digital displays and the increasing breadth and complexity of functionality are just three of the reasons for this visual in-car explosion. Ultimately, the whole car, inside and out, could become a display. Along with the operational and safety aspects, the flexibility offered by display technology for instant personalization, infotainment and signalization to the inside and outside in future usage models is extremely attractive.

In addition to displays, another aspect that is picking up really well is connectivity and ADAS systems. According a report by Markets and Markets, the global ADAS market size is projected to grow from USD 27.0 billion in 2020 to USD 83.0 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 11.9%.

Tell us about cybersecurity for automotive

The changing landscape and hyper-connectivity between the car and the cloud is one of the reasons behind cybersecurity challenges, with an ever-expanding attack surface that requires active and continuous monitoring and protection. Modern automakers require solutions that enable them to deliver these new experiences while mitigating risks associated with system vulnerabilities, preventing data breaches, and managing threats to the systems’ integrity and safety.

This solution is now taking the shape of cloud-based systems, such as Vehicle Security Operations Centers (vSOC). As passenger vehicles become more connected to the cloud (V2C), other cars (V2V), pedestrians (V2P) and the infrastructure (V2X), and attack surfaces continue to grow and the need for cybersecurity becomes clearer. HARMAN offers a line of cybersecurity solutions that protect the vehicle and passengers alike as they become more connected than ever before.

Importance of ADAS in modern vehicles

ADAS has the potential to remove human error from the equation on the journey to zero-accident mobility. In addition, the evolution of more powerful cockpit architectures, allows for the pre-integration of ADAS functionality in Digital Cockpits. Harman has a broad suite of technologies and when coupled with our consumer insights and global market trends, our ADAS systems enable the convergence of safety, comfort and experience to enable a safe and exciting future for mobility.

Harman acquired Savari, an automotive technology company providing V2X sensor solutions and edge-based analytics for automotive and smart infrastructure, in 2021. Savari’s software and hardware technology enhances comprehensive automotive telematics and advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) capabilities, and expands the company’s strengths in 5G Edge, multi-access edge computing (MEC) and smart infrastructure solutions.

In February 2022, HARMAN acquired mixed reality (MR) and augmented reality (AR) leader Apostera, expanding automotive product offerings and positioning the company at the forefront of automotive AR/MR experience design. Apostera’s mixed reality solution combines Augmented Reality, Machine Learning, Computer Vision, and sensor fusion in a hardware-agnostic software platform. 

Role of HARMAN in pushing sales of carmakers like Tata

Consumers were accustomed to getting the latest and greatest software features with their mobile devices and wanted the same connectivity in their vehicles as well. In-vehicle marketplaces or app stores became a priority for OEMs in India around 2017-2018. Our 2000+ brilliant minds are continuously contributing to global platforms and programs, across Digital cockpits, Car Audio, Telematics and ADAS from our state of the art manufacturing facility in Pune, for both Indian customers such as TATA, Maruti and global customers such as GM, Toyota, VW, Daimler, etc.

In a recent KPMG survey, 82% of automotive executives believe the car needs its own digital ecosystem, and 85% agreed that such digital ecosystems will generate higher revenues than the hardware of the car itself in the coming years. In fact, HARMAN systems are helping in the increase of take rates in connected display IVI and branded audio. Our products range from an IVI system to a Dual screen IVI + Instrument cluster giving the OEM’s the right blend of performance and value.

Smart In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) systems deliver an intuitive, appealing and fully connected lifestyle, thus transforming in-vehicle experience. Vehicle infotainment, navigation, mobile device and telematics can be synchronized to provide a coherent system and a simple interface for the driver. Ensuring that all these components of the IVI system work together is complex, and the operation needs to be assured against a variety of software updates for mobile communications platforms such as, Android and iOS, Automotive Projection Modes (Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and BAIDU CarLife), and interoperability with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and USB standards.

What other cockpit solutions are you offering to automakers?

Mobility means more than just getting from point A to B. In particular, the cockpit as an experiential hub has to serve more than just entertainment and control needs. The cockpit of today is fully connected, improves safety and is the perfect companion for a digital life. The HARMAN Digital Cockpit combines all experiences on one single platform and the platform bundles all strengths of HARMAN’s areas of expertise to create maximum value for OEMs and consumers.

Digital Cockpit Scalable Premium Solutions

​The Digital Cockpit Platform for scalable premium solutions leverages a wide range of core assets like Connected Services, the HARMAN Ignite Cloud Platform, ADAS functions and the pre-integrated HARMAN Android IVI and AudioworX to provide superior driving experiences. New powerful and scalable silicon families integrate more features into the software. Neural networks provide AI functions like face and natural voice recognition for premium online and offline experiences. Deep vehicle sensor and camera integration reduce the vehicle system complexity and increase the in-cabin experience through premium ADAS features.​

Digital Cockpit - Global Market Solutions

Today, more than ever, consumers expect to be constantly connected to their digital lives, no matter where they are. HARMAN designs products and services that support the in-vehicle experience to meet the expectations of a mobile lifestyle. HARMAN’s Digital Cockpit Platform is designed to seamlessly connect the vehicle to relevant systems, thus saving the driver time and improving the connected lifestyle in the car and beyond. The Digital Cockpit Platform is based on either Linux or Android and can be flexibly integrated into every vehicle line.​​

​Consumers are demanding more digital experiences inside the car regardless of the vehicle’s price point. Through value and integration engineering, HARMAN’s global market solutions enable a personalized and integrated cabin user experience. This platform leverages the experiences from delivering premium solutions with immense cost down through reduced hardware costs. This is achieved via reduced system complexity with the ability to be seamlessly connected across multiple domains.

The approach provides profound rich user experiences like personalization, navigation, voice and productivity without the associated costs of a premium system. A key component to delivering such rich, cost-effective experiences comes from the HARMAN Ignite Cloud Platform​.​

What’s the most liked feature for any buyer in a modern day vehicle?

The vehicle’s value once measured by its mechanical performance, exterior styling, and driving dynamics has now changed. As consumers ambitiously strive for new ways to connect to their world, both in and outside their vehicles, it’s no surprise that the way consumers measure a car’s worth has moved toward the experience provided based on their need at any single point in time.

Car buyers are paying more attention to how new connected experiences are possible with the technology available inside their vehicle, rather than the engine’s horsepower, cornering abilities or even the brand name. As the shift from RPM (Revolutions per Minute) to EPM (Experiences per Mile) continues to grow, the automotive industry must find new ways to adapt to this change or risk being left behind.

With new enablers such as cloud computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Over-The Air updates, and 5G Telematics at the forefront of automotive development, along with the CASE movement (Connected, Autonomous, Shared Mobility and Electrification), these recent advancements will drive the way consumers think about the automobile and interact with services while driving as we enter the next chapter of automotive innovation. And, it’s happening now.

Consumers today are looking at advanced features like CarPlay/ Android Auto, and enhanced user interface via larger and crisper displays, good connectivity, and a comprehensive app ecosystem. Features like surround view assist and vehicle health monitoring are also picking up well with buyers choosing convenience and becoming more and more safety conscious.