How Smart Leaders Use Big Data to Understand Customers and Drive Innovation in the Global Auto Industry

• In Event: Using Big Data, Design Thinking, and Strategic Networking to Engage Stakeholders in Turbulent Environments

Short Description

The automobile industry uses mobile platforms and big data to collect and analyze information about customer driving patters and apply that information to innovate at the forefront of electrified automotive technology. The presenter will discuss how this information is being used to better understand and respond to stakeholders’ needs and preferences.

Detailed Abstract

Modern vehicles are fitted with telematics units that broadcast customer usage and vehicle-operating parameters back to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), i.e., the car companies. The insights that can be gathered from such data have significant potential to impact future vehicle designs for OEMs. Additionally, regulators leverage this data to create meaningful compliance metrics. The major auto manufacturers have Mobile Platforms they use to collect anonymized data from customers driving Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles (PHEVs) and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs).

I am the Chief Engineer for Electrified Powertrain Systems for one of the major global automobile companies. In this presentation, I will show how my company and other companies like mine use Mobile Platforms and Big Data to collect and analyze information about customer driving patters and apply that information to innovate at the forefront of electrified automotive technology. Specifically, I will discuss recent Big Data analysis results from my company’s Mobile Platform and show how we are using those results to better understand and respond to our stakeholders’ needs and preferences.

Selecting the right range on PHEVs and BEVs is a delicate balance between regulations, cost, and customer wants. The proposed approach uses my company’s Mobile Data to decipher different driving habits of customers as it pertains to the different electrified powertrains. We also learn from the Mobile Platform that driving conditions and climate control usage impact on-road electric range. We quantify this effect and show how vehicle pre-conditioning can help mitigate the impact of climate loads. The Mobile Platform Data also provides insights into average power demand during real world driving by our customers. This data is helpful for regulatory agencies to understand the real world usage of our customers in comparison to regulatory test cycles. A clear understanding of xEV vehicle usage can help OEMs and regulators in the future.

Participant

• Brett Hinds, Ford Motor Company