New Revenue Opportunity With Metaverse For Automotive

Amey Godbole Arghya Datta Oct 06, 2022

OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and hardware & software providers are investing significantly in the research and testing of metaverse technology for the automotive industry. The global metaverse market for automotive is projected to grow from USD 1.9 billion in 2022 to USD 16.5 billion by 2030, at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 31.4 percent, as per reports.

Factors such as the rising use of NFTs (Non-fungible Tokens) in the virtual space, as well as inexpensive and convenient manufacturing and testing of vehicles, will boost the growth for the metaverse market in automotive. So far, the metaverse market for automotive is dominated by established players such as NVIDIA (US), Roblox Corporation (US), Unity Technologies (US), Meta Platforms (US), and WayRay (Switzerland). They develop products and provide services for the automotive metaverse ecosystem. They have initiated partnerships to develop their metaverse technology and provide finished products and services to their customers in the metaverse market for automotive.

Growth is expected from developments in technologies like XR (Extended Reality) hardware and software, digital twin and showrooms in virtual spaces, Blockchain, and NFTs, among others. OEMs like BMW Group (Germany), Hyundai Motor Company (South Korea), and Volkswagen AG (Germany) have partnered with these companies to develop their brands through the metaverse ecosystem. For instance, the BMW Group has been working with NVIDIA to develop an automotive design and factory setup in the metaverse, which can work with real-life factories. The opportunities in adjacent markets, such as VR (Virtual Reality), AR (Augmented Reality), XR (Extended Reality), AI (Artificial Intelligence), and AR/VR hardware and peripherals, open new revenue prospects for the metaverse market in the automotive industry. Peripheral technologies like IoT, 5G, and Cloud Computing have revolutionised the incorporation of metaverse-related technologies on the infrastructural level in the metaverse market for automotive.

In India, with the growing manufacturing and industrial sectors, AR and VR can be used to facilitate training and predictive maintenance. Cloud offers self-service provisioning, enhanced performance and productivity, and increased speed. Businesses may choose service models completely dependent on business requirements to adhere to these benefits. The SaaS model has the highest adoption rate due to various advantages.

Software products are expected to be the fastest-growing market in Asia Pacific. Many India-based start-ups like CarzSo, Hyperlink Infosystem, XR Labs, and XR Central are rapidly growing their software solutions and services for the metaverse software industry in India and Asia Pacific. Nissan launched Invisible-to-Visible (i2V), which lets drivers connect to the metaverse. Lexus, a subsidiary of Toyota, launched its new Lexus NX car with a unique metaverse experience and an exceptional NX NFT Artwork. Toyota also launched an AR tool with which users and customers can get an all-new immersive experience of their vehicles.

Metaverse in automotive infotainment systems is a much-awaited application, with companies like Nissan, Audi, WayRay, and Here Technologies working on developing their AR/VR/MR-based metaverse infotainment systems. Mixed Reality (MR) will be the fastest-growing segment. MR is a blend of physical and digital worlds or a combination of AR and VR.

HoloLens 2 is an example of MR (Mixed Reality) smart glasses developed by Microsoft. It leverages multiple sensors, advanced optics, and holographic processing to display information, blend with the real world, or even simulate a virtual world. MR headsets are in the early stages of deployment in enterprises, with the rising number of devices, such as the sensor-equipped HMD of Apple, currently being patented for future deployments. Other companies and start-ups are also planning to enter the field of MR (Mixed Reality) devices. This will lead to MR finding greater applicability in the automotive industry.