How Business Travel is Shaping the Auto Industry

As the global population grows and we buy more and more cars (worldwide car sales hit 75.3 million in 2023, up from 67.3 million in 2022), traffic is only getting worse. And you don’t need to live in Paris, London or New Delhi to notice, just ask anyone who drives in Sydney or Melbourne.

As the time we spend commuting in our cars increases, time-poor workers are increasingly seeking ways to get more done on their way to and from the office, and that goes well beyond just making phone calls. Increasingly, car companies are realising that they need to provide auto technology that can provide the kind of experience that business travellers are used to when they fly in the vehicles of tomorrow.

The rise of autonomous cars

What will make that easier and more common is the on-rushing advent of autonomous cars, because when you don’t need to drive any more your car will become a “third place”, aside from the office and home, where you can spend valuable time. Audi has already shown a concept car called the Grand Sphere, which is filled with screens for working on, has plenty of WiFi hot spots for streaming or working, and has no visible steering wheel (you can summon one for the dash if you feel like driving yourself). Audi claims it will have a production-ready version of this innovative automotive machine, likely to be called the Audi Q9, on public sale by 2025, at least in some countries.

Comfort and convenience

Audi isn’t the only company with this kind of vision, of course, and nor was it the first. As far back as 2013, one of BMW’s design studios, Designworks USA – which also works with Rolls-Royce (a brand owned by BMW) – was hired to create the First Class seats for Singapore Airlines.

Laurenz Schaffer, President of BMW Group Designworks USA, said at the time: “Through both readily apparent elements such as colour, textiles and tactile surfaces, together with subtle holistic details that reveal themselves throughout the journey, Singapore Airlines and Designworks USA will create a quieter, more spacious and exclusive atmosphere for the First Class passenger who demands nothing but the best.”

BMW made it clear at the time that the project was conducted with one eye on designing cars that would suit the business traveller, with not just hugely comfortable seats that can provide soothing massage functions for the stressed executive, but work spaces with fold-out tables that allow people to work while on the move.

Those lucky enough to have chauffeurs and Rolls-Royces are doing this already, of course.

The internet of moving things

Many modern cars now come with built-in WiFi hotspots, which, as long as you’re not at the wheel and can get someone else to do the driving, means that you can get your laptop out and work while you’re sitting in traffic.

Perhaps the most useful and well-known piece of auto technology that has changed the business of driving for the better is Apple CarPlay or its competitor Android Auto. With these systems, you are constantly connected to the internet, via your phone, while driving, and can ask Siri any question in the world at the press of a button and, mostly, have it answered.

Perhaps the biggest boon, though, is the fact that systems like CarPlay can read your text messages aloud and can then take dictated responses, so you can deal with business messages while driving without any temptation to look at your phone.

^Disclaimer

^{Viva Energy Australia Pty Ltd (“Viva Energy”) has compiled the above article for your general information and to use as a general reference. Whilst all reasonable care has been taken by Viva Energy in compiling this article, Viva Energy does not warrant or represent that the information in the article is free from errors or omissions or is suitable for your intended use.}