Six standout words from FT Future of the Car

We’ve been at FT Future of the Car this week. Three days of discussion and debate equals a huge amount of content to digest - and more than a few buzzwords 🐝

Here’s six words and terms we heard a lot – and why we think their use is not only justified, but why we’ll be hearing them again and again.

Ecosystem An old term that’s really risen to the top over the last few days. Almost every conversation around the automotive supply chain referred to it. Why? There’s broad consensus that making, selling, managing and recycling cars is more complex than ever and with multiple dependencies at every stage. And that’s an ecosystem.

Demanufacturing No, that’s not a typo. Demanufacturing is taking things apart to separate materials ahead of recycling. It reduces the carbon impact of recycling and keeps more valuable materials out of landfill. With more focus than ever on decarbonisation and creating a circular economy, demanufacturing is a word we’ll be hearing OEMs use more and more.

Connected car This term is used to describe a wifi-equipped vehicle that can share data with devices inside and outside the car. For all you buzzword superfans, some also describe this as Software Defined Vehicles. This is the new frontier for automotive, enabling everything from convenience, entertainment, and safety features to autonomous driving. Once just a vision, it’s now a reality fuelling a new industry.
 
Democratisation This word was used frequently when describing the need for more affordable EVs. Most acknowledge that new EV prices on both sides of the Atlantic are out of reach to the average motorist, hampering the move to zero-emission motoring. Expect to hear this more as the incumbent OEMs rally to launch entry-level EVs that can compete with those coming through from the new Chinese brands. 

Usership Mostly used in conjunction with ‘ownership’, usership seeks to differentiate between the act of owning a vehicle versus having access to one via a growing number of pay-as-you-go type finance products. From daily rentals to multi-year lease deals via Uber-type services and flexible subscription products, the view is consumers will increasingly choose to pay for the vehicle they need at the point of that need, rather than own outright.  

Brand OK, so not a buzzword as such, but certainly a word we heard repeatedly this week as the debate on its role in today’s EV-dominated market raged. Ford, Peugeot and Cupra’s bosses argued it’s a vital differentiator and key to their future success. But others argue the appetite for BYD and their Chinese peers proves brand isn’t what it was. What’s the truth? What effect will the shift to EV have on established loyalties? It’s too early to tell, but meanwhile, expect to hear the word brand more than ever. 

What do you think? What words stood out for you this week?