As cars evolve and mobility takes on new and greater meaning, how is roadside assistance going to keep ahead of the curve.
Cars are becoming safer, but repairing them is becoming more expensive, with much more integrated components & features being part of the vehicle. Now a simple accident which might require replacing the good old bumper, can also mean replacing damaged sensors and camera. The churning in the automotive industry is changing every other service aspect of the mobility ecosystem. And roadside assistance is one of the core services that is adapting to the smart reality of mobility, quickly.
With global roadside assistance market anticipated to grow at 3.8 % CAGR for the forecast period of 2020–2027, it is expected to touch US$ 29 Billion by 2027. Roadside assistance is keeping up with global mobility trends — and the key is vehicular data.
Increasing demand for hybrid and EVs
The increasing sales of hybrid and electric vehicles implies that roadside assistance providers must upgrade their technologies. This is one of the factors leading the expansion trajectory of the global roadside assistance market at a CAGR of close to 4% during the forecast period. With EVs, predictive maintenance will become the norm. Low tire pressure, and battery issues will potentially be communicated to the driver before they require roadside assistance.
Rising Vehicle Connectivity
With high penetration of connected cars on the horizon, and telematics systems enabling transfer of data — a car’s condition can seamlessly be communicated to service centers, fleet owners, and insurance providers. Real-time highway alerts and notifications to drivers, navigation systems that will direct the vehicle toward the least fuel-consuming route based on traffic density, will become regular features. This will encourage OEMs to equip their vehicles with these systems and have a positive impact on roadside assistance’s overall market growth.
App-driven Assistance
Use of app driven services which lead to quick response time, and minimize the period for assistance, have accelerated the demand for roadside assistance solutions. The time and resources saved by mobile applications for roadside assistance by leveraging vehicular data enable quick support for a flat tire change, battery boost, fuel delivery, towing and emergency services. And automatic voice control and digital assistance is also making impressive in-roads in mobile assistance.
Roadzen’s on demand, roadside assistance platform — StrandD, efficiently manages the digital needs of customers, through easy, multichannel requests, accurate location tracking, real-time assistance & service-on-the-way view, supported by a 24x7 contact center. It delivers the fastest roadside assistance while keeping the customer updated through multiple communication channel.
Vehicle Data is a Game Changer for Roadside Assistance
Connected cars are generating large amounts of vehicle status and usage data that is providing roadside assistance service providers with crucial information about the vehicle’s location, engine status, error codes, fuel level, tire pressure and much more. Such data is used to analyze the underlying cause for a breakdown cause, decide required action, and promote quick engagement for improved quality of service and driver’s experience.
Location data indicates exactly where the car broke down, ensuring assistance arrives faster. Car data also minimizes the time spent on the side of the road, which reduces safety hazards, both for the driver and to the other cars on the highway.
In some cases, data can help determine if roadside assistance is even needed, by identifying the problem and providing the quickest remedy, without the need to send a tow truck. Representatives can guide the driver or passengers over the service app or phone on how to recover from the breakdown.
Roadside assistance services can also use vehicle data to create partnerships with insurance companies. The data can determine how to execute the driver’s insurance policies and claims more efficiently.
It can also go a step further and prevent a breakdown, through preventive maintenance. This enables dispatching the necessary parts to a partnered repair shop, which saves time and money for drivers and service providers. This also improves the efficiency of the aftermarket parts value chain inventory. And for the car owner this delivers immediate time and cost savings.
