Trends in the industry

Questions about the future

Some of the questions that arise frequently in the industry are: How and where will our customers buy a car in the future? What will cars and car ownership be like in the future? How can we make sure we have the right expertise to cope with the rapid technological development in the industry?

How and where will we buy a car in the future?

Society is fast becoming more and more digitalised, and the car industry is no exception – both when it comes to technology in the cars, and to new methods for sales and service.

A lot of the work is done online nowadays, and there is increasing demand for digital services that make life easier for the user.

How Bilia is dealing with this development: A lot of customers are looking for a simple way to book services and access consultation, and they prefer being able to do so online. Others prefer to come to a showroom to find well-known brands and receive good customer service.

At present, Bilia sells most of its cars in the showroom, but it also offers sales of used cars online via the Bilia online shop. Customers who require information about our products find it online, and can also come into contact with our sales staff in this manner.

Bilia will continue to invest in its own facilities, but will also develop its digital sales channels and solutions such as service booking and consultation with experienced sales staff and service engineers.

Car manufacturers also have their own digital sales channels, offering customers direct car sales. Bilia is carefully monitoring the evolution of alternative sales channels, and will continue to adapt its business to market conditions as necessary.

What will cars and car ownership be like in the future? How does the choice of car contribute to a more sustainable society?

Developments towards a fossil-free society are bringing fossil fuels such as petrol and diesel into question, in favour of more eco-friendly alternatives such as electricity and biofuel. Norway has an explicit objective of only selling electric cars from 2025, and subsidises such cars via tax regulations. In Sweden, the government decided to remove the climate bonus for cars ordered after November 8, 2022.

How Bilia is dealing with this development: Bilia works with general agents who are far advanced in the development of cars that meet market demand for more eco-friendly alternatives. They are financially well-established companies with the resources to secure the products’ competitiveness and technological evolution far into the future. Bilia offers help when choosing a car from a sustainability perspective, based on information about how the car will be used in terms of driving distances, charging opportunities and acceptable costs. In certain situations a pure electric car may be the perfect choice, but in others a plug-in hybrid might be better. A diesel car, which can now run on sustainable biofuels (HVO) could be an excellent eco-friendly choice for someone who drives long distances. We constantly train our sales staff in environmental and financial issues related to choosing a car from a sustainability perspective. Bilia is continuously developing its range of financing solutions to meet customers’ needs, for example in terms of bringing the cost of running a car in line with the customer’s finances.

How can we make sure we have the right technical competence moving forward?

There is a shortage of mechanics and vehicle engineers in the automotive industry, as the number of students in those fields coming out of school is insufficient to meet current needs. This is partly because the number of cars has increased, while the vehicle stock itself is in transition from conventional to more eco-friendly fuels.

This, coupled with rapid technological development, calls for increasingly sophisticated education and training. Consequently, the modern automotive industry has an urgent need for more vehicle engineers specialising in new technology and new fuels.

How Bilia is dealing with this development: Over the period 2013–2019, the Bilia Group has increased its number of newly employed service engineers by 5 per cent a year on average, due to the high demand for service. There is still a continued need to recruit more engineers to meet the demand.

To ensure that we can offer the most up-to-date expertise moving forward, Bilia therefore invests heavily in training every year alongside its general agents. Bilia also works with schools in automotive engineering, and offers work placements.

A certification programme for high school students is also being offered in Sweden in partnership with the Swedish Automobile Association (Motormännens Riksförbund). Certification entails that the student’s know-how and skills are tested in the real world during a work practice period.