Review of Trends and Potentials in the Vehicle Concept Development Process

Automobile manufacturers are in the midst of the greatest phase of transformation in their history. The paradigms they used over recent decades are gradually dissolving. Two new megatrends are drastically changing the market. On the one hand, there is sustainability, which is causing the ever-increasing replacement of the combustion engine by the electric motor and is pushing the sector towards "greener" mobility. On the other hand, there is automation, which is the source of a shift towards autonomous driving. How do these megatrends affect the vehicle development process? Which potentials and changes do they cause? The answer is the key to enable vehicle manufacturers to face these changes. To answer these questions, we analyze the current development process, taking into account the individual development steps, and discuss the modifications promoted by sustainability and automation.