VR and AR for vehicle sales - How does it work_

1. Like any other industry, the automotive industry has also gone through its fair share of ups and downs over the years. But with the lockdowns of a large part of the auto industry and its many suppliers around the world for several weeks, 2020 marked the worst crisis ever to impact the automotive industry. The data showed a 16% decline in the 2020 production, to less than 78 million vehicles, which is equivalent to 2010’s sales levels. But now that things are back to normal, so is the automotive market. And Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality play a major role in this. How is VR helping with sales? While physical showrooms are still prevalent, Virtual showrooms are slowly gaining popularity. But before we go into detail, let's see what a virtual showroom is. Created from a 360-video capture or from the entire 3D modelization of the place, a virtual showroom is simply the virtualization of the shop. These showrooms can offer a way for customers to research, explore, and purchase vehicles from the comfort of their own homes. Using VR app development, buyers can explore thousands of models, rotate vehicles, change the paintwork, “sit” in the driver’s seat, and even go for a virtual test drive. Now let's see more about its types and how it works: App-based showrooms: Examining and customizing a virtual car on a screen is nothing new. We all probably would have done that while playing racing games like need for speed, test drive, etc. But let's be real, it is not enough when you are purchasing a car. The level of detail and image quality offered by virtual showrooms are almost life-like. You can visit a virtual showroom on your smartphone or tablet, selecting a make, model, year, and trim, then check it out from every angle, inside and out. Augmented reality: If you are someone who is trying to figure out whether the new car you are planning to purchase will fit in your parking space, then AR can be the solution you need. AR allows you to superimpose digital content onto a real-world environment using your smartphone or tablet.

2. So, naturally, you can use it to see how it would look in your parking space, or even make it pocket-size and set it on your bedside table. How are customers and manufacturers benefiting from it? ● Saves cost by reducing brick-and-mortar dealership footprint, and bypasses the costs of transporting new vehicles between dealerships. ● Reduces the time customers spend on the dealership since they will already know what vehicle they want. ● Customers can shop any time of the day or night using a self-service model that is infinitely more scalable than face-to-face sales. ● Can connect with a wider customer base, which can help dealers increase sales and move inventory off of the lot more quickly. What is the future? VR has already become one of the most important technologies used for designing, manufacturing, and selling vehicles. And recently, manufacturers have started using it for pre-release marketing. They use AR and VR to market the new model even before its release to create excitement. And since VR is an evolving technology, we can see more of its new exciting uses in the near future.