XR in the Automotive Industry
The Automotive industry has been one of the early adopters of XR technology and has used it for both showcasing products and providing that personalised experience for customers.
AR Solutions
Porsche showcasing their vehicle via AR on an iPad
AR technologies are used to:
Visualise different model vehicles and colours
Visualise different combinations of various Options & Accessories
Produce a “Digital Twin” of any vehicle
Augment vehicles within a given physical location
Enhance the customers Digital Journey by seeing the vehicle options they select
BMW have published the BMW i Series “Visualiser” AR app to showcase their i3 and i8 model cars - the below screenshots show the i8 and the various viewpoints in a given driveway - customers get to “see their car” in their own driveway or local street.
Porsche has published an even more comprehensive AR Visualiser on iOS and AR Visualiser on Google Play for their latest vehicles. Their app allows the user to virtually drive the vehicle and learn more about the interior drive train and main construction and chassis.
VR Solutions
BMW’s standard “VR Room” for showcasing their vehicles to customers inside their retail centres
VR technologies are used to:
Visualise different model vehicles and colours in true 3D
Show customer the various combinations of various Options & Accessories available for each model vehicle
Immerse the customer inside the vehicle or outside at given locations and environments
Allow the customer to interact with the 3D vehicle model - opening/closing doors, moving to different seats and walking right around the vehicle
Enhance the customers Digital Journey by previewing in full 3D detail the vehicle options the customer selects
VR technologies enable the following business and commercial benefits:
Allow the salesperson to reveal additional vehicle options to up sell the vehicle value - options that the customer may not be aware of or see the value of - increasing the overall net profit margin
Enable the retailer to have smaller showrooms as multiple vehicles can be shown within a single space - reducing investment on real estate - a significant cost factor applied to any retail automotive business
Allow the salesperson to show customers future models of vehicles that have not been released yet - allowing customers to pre-order vehicles prior to their release
The images below show various screenshots from BMW’s Emotional Virtual Engine (EVE) VR solution for its latest BMW and MINI vehicles - designed for its retail centres.
