From a connectivity and mobility perspective, 2022 was a year of tipping points and partnerships in the automotive, transport and agritech sectors.
Cubic Telecom CEO Barry Napier’s observation that this year would mark a genuine shift towards a future where what’s inside a vehicle becomes as important as what’s under the bonnet proved prescient: some of the most notable developments this year show how in-vehicle experience is a new battleground in automotive OEM rivalry. And, as the numbers increasingly show, connectivity is the backbone of everything.
Here’s a brief roundup of some of the news and developments we thought made the most impact in 2022.
Partnerships matter
At CES 2022, we gained insight into some of the ways that major players from often very diverse sectors were working together to evolve their products and technologies for a more sustainable future.
Connecting the car to the cloud
Staying with the partnerships theme, 2022 saw Cubic Telecom strengthen its strategic relationship with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc: our connected software solutions will enable global connectivity and related analytics and insights for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon ® Car-to-Cloud services, further enhancing the Snapdragon Digital Chassis cloud-connected vehicle platforms.
Connectivity is king
Connected car sales overtook non-connected cars in Q2 2022, and while 4G accounted for 90% of the connectivity, 5G vehicle sales surpassed the half million milestone. While China was the first country to introduce 5G connected vehicles in 2020, the USA pulled ahead in 2022. As Barry Napier observes, OEMs are headed for a future where connectivity will matter as much as charging does for electric vehicles. With more connected vehicles on the road than ever, connectivity is poised to become a key differentiator in brand loyalty and customer churn in 2023.
Electric vehicles reach tipping point
2022 was a landmark year for electric vehicles (EVs) in the USA, with a 60% increase in new battery-electric car registrations over last year: over 600,000 vehicles during the first 10 months of 2022. It’s not all about Tesla, either: an 81% increase in sales for brands including BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Kia and Volkswagen suggest a strengthening in overall sentiment. Meanwhile, in Europe, new EV registrations in 2022 increased by almost 18%, up to 1.7 million. There’s a real sense that a turning point in the transition towards more sustainable vehicles and transport was reached this year.
Transport joins the digital transformation party
With 88% of logistics activities in Europe and 80% in the USA carried out via road networks, connectivity and analytics are enabling the sector to work more smartly and sustainably, at scale. Two stories at opposite ends of that scale that caught our attention this year were Amazon’s announcement of a €1bn investment in electric vans, trucks and low-emission package hubs and Estonian capital city Tallinn’s trial of robotic couriers in the Old Town.
Managing connectivity on a global scale
The common thread for all of this is connectivity. 2023 and beyond will see high-quality, ubiquitous coverage mattering as much as charging points do for EV drivers. As new and critical 5G and IoT use cases emerge, “best effort” won’t be enough. Quality of Service and Quality of Experience matter more than ever.
Cubic Telecom 2022: A year of milestones
2022 was an exciting year for Cubic Telecom too. In addition to strengthening our partnerships with some of the world’s leading technology, automotive, transport and agritech brands, we increased our global footprint to over 190 countries worldwide. In doing so, we hit the milestone of 10 million devices connected in June – and then accelerated past it to just over 13 million as we close out the year.
We’re everywhere our customers need to be. To learn more about how we could be there for you and your customers in 2023, check out our connected software and data analytics technologies today.
